To Reach You
by TheFlowerWeSawThatDay
Summary: Okuda Manami now enters her high school life after the unforgettable events of last year. But how does an assassin go back to being a normal student in a normal school? After being shunned by her entire classroom, she decides it's better that way. No one needs an introverted chemical freak;but that's just when an overfamiliar Redhead decides to pry into her life. (Hiatus, not dead)
1. Chapter 1

**To Reach You**

**Summary: Okuda Manami now enters her high school life after the unforgettable events of her last year in middle school. But how does a former killer go back to being a regular student in a regular high school? After being shunned by her entire classroom, she decides to keep it that way since she thinks no one can get hurt that if she's out of the picture. No one needs an introverted chemical freak – but that's just when an overfamiliar Redhead decides to get in the way. Karmanami (MAJOR) and other ships coming your way! As usual, reviews are very much appreciated! **

**Hello there! It's TFWSTD the anohana freak with a Karmanami fic for all you fans of this ship. Damn, I got addicted to this ship for a while now and I was complaining about WHY THERE AREN'T A LOT OF FICS FOR THEM, so I decided I'd write one ^3^. **

**This story will have 2 parts to it. The first half would probably have an estimated number of 25 chapters or more (I hope it's not more) as well as the 2****nd**** half. The story is set in high school after everything with korosensei ends. I don't know how they deal with the octopus but I'll try not to make it matter as much in this story. Some references are canon, but most of the time expect me…playing with people's pasts. Yeah I know I should just be left in a hole and read the manga already…8D**

**WARNING: This story was inspired from Kimi ni Todoke, so some similarities may occur. Course it's only SIMILAR and not ENTIRELY the same. Of course I will do my best to remain original, I just thought while watching it 'hey, these two actually fit the story!' or something. You have been warned.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Assassination Classroom or its characters, just the OC's that will be part of this story and some parts of it.**

**And without further ado, To Reach you!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: **The Lonely 1st Year

**_They say that if you're completely honest with someone, whether or not those words keep people with you or away from you, they surely will reach them if they're true._**

_My name is Okuda Manami – a former killer and student of the late Korosensei. I'm shy, socially awkward, introverted and very bad with words. And right now, I am a first year student in Kimii High school. _

At the back row of class 1-C sat a girl with matching braids that fell on her shoulders and glasses that glinted against the sunrays that shone through the window. The girl took notes with half-lidded eyes and her lips were formed into a thin line.

_In the past month, I accomplished a number of things. I have been able to meet all of my teachers, familiarize myself with the school grounds and memorized my way from my apartment to this building. Number of friends is: 0._

The class was holding a study hall, however only this lone four-eyed girl seemed to be taking such a period seriously. When she looked around the room, everyone had already formed into their mini-groups and did anything but what the period suggested.

_This same thing happened on the first day of school. Since I wasn't exactly a people person, I was quick to be the one that no one was willing to talk to. And many times I've found myself thinking about being in a certain classroom I considered as the place where I belonged the most._

When lunch time came, everyone in her class remained in the cafeteria or had their bento inside the classroom, still formed in little groups and having some conversations that seemed to interest themselves. However the case was different for this chemistry geek – whom was now making her way to an isolated bench outside of the building with her lunch in hand – and after putting away the cherry blossom petals that gathered there, the girl silently took her seat and ate in solitude.

_But compared to the first day, things became much lonelier after last week._

_My lunch would always be composed of me, my regular bunny chopsticks and an old bench I found at the back of the senior's building – where no one goes because of a strange rumor about someone dying while waiting on the very bench I sat on. And also the place I know I can't hurt anybody…_

And rain clouds began to form above her as they gave off a mild booming sound signaling the coming of a rather strong shower.

* * *

_The incident happened on a rainy Friday last week…_

The scent of exotic mixtures and formulas that wafted from the chemistry lab mixed with the smell of a rain shower pouring down on an average spring day. The sound of glasses clanking to one another and materials being in use indicated that 1-C was about to have their first lab session by testing chemicals and observing them to know when application for specifics was proper. And there in table number five seated Okuda Manami and her partner Mikami Erina.

Mikami Erina – the most loved, most beautiful and most popular girl of the classroom; and it's only the second week. She had long, chocolate colored, curly hair that was fixed by a mini ponytail at the back of her head. She had those light brown eyes that seem to sparkle a lot when she's being polite and her form wasn't too fat nor too thin – just the right size standing at 5'4". The heartthrob, the socialite, and the all-around nice girl everyone wants to be with; basically everything Manami wasn't. From the mini scientist's perspective however, all she saw from her was just another girl trying to act air-headed and helpless in front of everyone just so she could have everyone on her side when something she's not in favor for occurs. How did she get that kind of impression? This is just like what happened with Irina-sensei – only, of course, Mikami-san was lightyears away from being as good as she was – and because she spent an entire year trying to assassinate Korosensei, she's had her fair share of assassination education to be able to figure that out almost immediately. Though Mikami-san really acted kind and respectful to teachers and herself, she couldn't help but feel distaste towards the female. But a part of her wishes that she'd be wrong about her lab partner's personality, and that if she _is_ what she makes herself out to be, she'd gladly want to try to be her friend too.

Mikagura-sensei, the chemistry teacher (and so far Manami's favorite teacher) pointed to the blackboard with a stirring rod. She walked with long, flowing orange locks that were styled with two clips that made the shape of an 'X' on the left side of her crown. She adjusted her rectangular-shaped black glasses – that seemed to glint with evil – and began with an enthusiastic (yet somehow twisted) smile "These are the chemicals you'll be testing today and make sure you get them right. Be careful with the chemicals dearies~ some of them may cause serious harm. So gloves, hairnets and goggles on at all times~!"

The class answered with a monotonous "Yes" after the teacher's instruction.

"Good~! Now I'll go out to the Faculty room to get my class record so I can start judging your performace once you're done. Now just follow the procedures on the board and you should all be fine." With that, Mikagura-sensei left the room without another word yet in no hurry at all for the students have only started to work.

Some would gather in front of the board to get a good grip on the procedure as others would joke with the chemicals or just sloth about wondering how they would bring about the instruction correctly. But there were others who did things seriously, like Okuda and Mikami's group. Well…at least half of it.

"Hey Okuda-san, what should I do with this test tube?" Mikami asked with a high pitched and hesitant tone while holding the test tube with her gloved hand.

Manami answered back with a smile – despite being not very comfortable around this girl, the idea of having chemistry class is enough to make her forget her other emotions.

After the question, Okuda-san ran her mouth with specific instructions, complicated formulas and chemistry materials not most high school students would be familiar with

Afterwards, the poor Mikami-san was left in a daze and all she could reply with was a hopeless expression and "I'm sorry, I really don't understand chemistry as well as you do, Okuda-san. I'm really really sorry if I'm being a burden to you right now. I'll try to do my best for sure! But I'm pretty air-headed and really clumsy with things so if you please…" she bowed her head as a plea to her.

Manami let out an inward sigh of exasperation and just smiled at her partner "It's okay, Mikami-san. I can handle it." Part of her polite tone sounded forced and hollow – though of course Manami failed to notice it. Sure, she had been taught in middle school how to handle her words but she was just starting to get the hang of it.

After all, change doesn't happen that fast.

And Manami went to work – mixing things that were needed and only taking a few glances at the procedure she's familiarized herself with already back in middle school. To her, this was just a small playground among the world she sucked herself into (thanks to assassination). Occasionally, Mikami-san would offer a hand and try to make herself useful, and she was a few times, but some would end in her feeling sorry for herself once more.

_That's when it happened. _

The sound of a raging flame filled the entire room for a mere second but quickly died down after Manami had acted fast, and though its effects weren't as bad as the mini-scientist would consider it to be, it seemed to be a big deal for everyone else.

"Mikami-san!"

"Mikami-san! Are you okay?!"

"Someone call Mikagura-sensei and the nurse!"

The students came over to their table and began pestering Mikami on her condition. Said girl however smiled sheepishly and held on to the piece of her hair that was burned and dyed lighter by the flame that had chemicals mixed into it. But as everyone helped her up and gave her looks of concern, Manami just stared on, unfazed by the incident and simply looked towards the disconcerted group of people blankly.

"I'm sorry everyone! Don't worry about me, I got in Okuda-san's way and caused a little accident. It's fine, please don't panic. It's just a simple burn!" the victim tried to reassure the class with that sheepish smile of hers as she held onto the piece of burnt material protectively.

But the students continued to obstinately question her about it so she replied with "It's my fault so don't worry about it! As you all know I'm really clumsy and a dummy like me that can't really do anything could never be cut out for something like this. I'm really sorry for getting all of you so worried about me…" Mikami's tears began to form at the edges of her eyes and it seemed as if she was trying hard to hold them in.

"Stop being so weak and dumb then."

And the entire class was silent. Not a sound could be heard aside from the merciless rain that poured down and crashed onto the roof like an infinite pile of pebbles. Each and every one of the students had looks of shock and anger plastered onto their faces as all of them looked into one particular direction.

Mikami Erina stared with a look of hurt and shock at the one who had made such a rude remark.

Okuda Manami had a hand over her mouth – she blurted out her thoughts without thinking

"How rude!"

"You're not one to talk!"

"Not everyone can be the same as you are!"

"And this is your fault in the first place! You're the one who caused the fire! What gives you the right?!"

"_**Everyone go back to your places and sit quietly.**__" _ To say Mikagura-sensei was infuriated was an understatement. Not only had her class wasted the time period for the experiment, they started showing attitudes she would've chosen not to witness. Next to her stood a middle-aged woman wearing a lab coat; she was graced with pixie-style cut red hair and rather narrow yet intimidating eyes. It was Inari-sensei, the nurse.

All Manami could remember was the fact that Mikami had been told to go with Inari-sensei to check on her burn, class had turned silent for the rest of the period, and that she was given sour looks the entire day.

* * *

It was after class hours. The sun was brilliantly radiating with orange against the gray rain clouds that remained even after the showers. The school was almost so empty that even the small water drops from the faucet next to the pool could be heard. The time was about 5:30 in the afternoon and Okuda Manami was just about to leave the school after being left to clean up the classroom. After retrieving her shoes from the locker and putting them on, she heard a small tapping sound and turned around to see

Mikami Erina?

She must have just been dismissed from the infirmary after resting...

"Yo." She said with that high-pitched voice of hers and a polite smile as her hands were entangled behind her. Mikami took a few steps forward so she was now a meter away from her earlier lab partner. Manami only looked at her with a startled expression but she soon greeted her. "G-Good evening, Mikami-san"

An awkward silence ensued and Manami was beginning to feel uneasy with only herself and this girl left in the building. The chemistry freak began looking to other directions and twiddling her fingers nervously behind her back. There was something unusual about the atmosphere around Mikami – something that isn't too pleasant seemed to be coming from her presence itself which caused Manami to step back a bit from the fellow student. But soon enough, Mikami spoke.

"We were in a bit of a tight situation earlier today, huh?" she started off, kindly like she always did.

Manami simply looked at her, not really sure what she was supposed to say, so she gave a simple nod and a hum sound.

Silence again. This time there was a bit of tension in the air as the two stood only a meter apart, unmoving and completely silent. Now for some reason, Manami only wishes to go home, to be rid of this growing anxiety and just sit in her room to read some of her books, to brew herself a cup of coffee, to simply call it a day and not deal with this right now. An introvert such as herself could never really grasp these kinds of situations well.

"Hey, Okuda-san. I heard you were from Kunugigaoka Middle School, Class E, correct?" there was something just a tad bit off with this tone compared to the usual one, but Manami decided to overlook it for the meantime and answered with a slightly dull tone "Mhm."

"And you were able to make it to this school? You must've had a wonderful teacher! It's a shame though, I heard he passed away last year…" then something was evident in her tone, a slight aggression was present, but Okuda, being how she is, was unsure of how to respond to such a tone let alone act around it. So many questions were filling her head all at once.

_'How'd she know all of that? What's she trying to do? I don't understand what she wants! Is this…about lab time?'_

Mikami looked to the side, the usual shine in them somehow faltered and she was giving the science maniac a small intimidating look, as if she's expecting her to say something.

"Hey, Okuda-san, about your words earlier—" Just then Manami cut the taller female off with a statement of her own.

_'I knew it!'_

"U-Um! M-Mikami-san! A-About earlier uhm…well…" she stuttered out as she fidgeted uncomfortably, the grip on her school bag tightened as she said the next few words with her eyes travelling everywhere except Mikami's face. "I don't re-regret any of the words I said because that's…really how I feel about what happened earlier…"

Okuda wasn't looking, but at this point Mikami had an expression of anger and shock written all over her face – but mostly the former. Her brow was twitching in irritation and her mouth was left agape, words tried to come out but they failed as the girl went on

"I-I mean, if you don't like being a bu-burden like you said then maybe you should stop acting like that and do something about it—"

"Shut up."

At this, Manami's eyes grew wide. She faced the angered expression of Mikami Erina – a face she didn't know she was capable of doing. The tone she had right now, it didn't even sound like it belonged to her. It was deep, threatening, and just downright unfriendly. It invited nothing and only presented hostility. Seeing this kind of behavior from her would've given anyone a chill through their spine, she knew that Mikami Erina was playing nice, but she didn't think this kind of monster lived beneath that façade.

"Mikami…-san…?" she slowly uttered out before she was shoved to the shoe locker and caged with one of Mikami's arms at the side of her head. The loud clang echoed through the empty hallways of the school. Manami's eyeballs had shrunk as they locked stares with Mikami's dangerous ones.

"I'm just about sick of being so nice to you! You…you're just an anti-social science geek! You don't have the right to speak to me like that because…" Mikami's gaze faced the floor as she yelled "_An introverted, cold-hearted killer like you will __**never**__ understand!"_

And that's when Manami felt a chill go up her spine and if her eyes could get any wider than they already were, they grew wider. She let out a surprised gasp and not a moment later Mikami was facing her again. "Yeah, I know what your class did last year. You were expending your days, training yourselves to be killers! And if I'm not mistaken, your target was your teacher? The one that gave you the capability to actually survive middle school with your rock-bottom grades? How cruel can that get?"

It was Okuda's turn to have her mouth agape at her words. She remained caged in this mess. Her knees began to shake along with her hands out of anxiety and just pure tremor as each word registered in her mind. What was causing this? Was it what you called a 'blast from the past'? Was it the memory of her teacher's death haunting her once more? Was it the sudden realization that she was once, for a good cause or not, a…killer?

"Hm? That's a good face your making." Mikami's tone had turned sinister. "Once this gets out, do you have any idea what will happen to you? You're already being avoided by people which is bad enough, but once they find out what you were, what then? I know, they'll hate you—No, they'll _fear_ you. No matter how much you want to change or how much you want to make friends, everyone will loathe you for the very fact that you have blood on your hands. And don't you see? Anyone can end up getting hurt being around the likes of you. Understand? So…" Mikami exhaled, lifted her palm from the locker and rested it on her hip to look at Manami's (to her) pathetic, lost face.

"Why don't you just…continue staying out of everyone's way? Don't you think maybe that way…you can keep anyone from getting hurt? Even yourself?"

From that statement, something surged within Manami causing her to look back at a small memory from long ago. The blurred image of a figure standing in front of her – it looked like this person was protecting her against a few rough looking boys in an old elementary school. But what was really eye-catching in this flashback was the fact that there was red trickling down the face and arm of the one trying to defend her.

And Manami's arms fell lifelessly to the side.

And the moment Erina left, Manami remained, leaning back against the shoe locker, still frozen from the earlier scene. When she finally grabbed hold of herself and regained the strength to move again, it took time for her legs to obey her and walk properly. And as Okuda Manami walked beneath the gathering rain clouds, the flashback played over and over as these words echoed within her head

_'I can keep people from getting hurt…as long as I…stay out of the way…'_

* * *

_It's been almost 3 weeks since then. Mikami-san transferred to another school 5 days ago, but the effect she left on the school and I remained. _

Thunder boomed loudly across the sky, enveloping the town in some kind of dome of loud sounds. Large droplets fell from the heavy clouds that covered the clear blue skies of spring, mimicking the sound of a million tiny stones falling from high ground.

And under the heavy rain, a girl held her transparent umbrella on her right hand, her school bag in the other. The road her feet tapped upon would've had a nice view if it weren't for the rain. To her left, there was a river and a bridge connecting the two sides of town, and to her right was a straight unending line of blooming cherry blossoms.

_I continue in a solitary manner, just like always. This is my path home._

_Sometimes, I would catch myself thinking about my old path to school, and how my current path is so much easier compared to the one I had to take just to get to class E._

She chuckles at the thought of having to climb some kind of mountain only to be met with an old, run-down building in the end – where there wasn't much technology that can be used, or clean/ brand new appliances for cleaning and other tasks. But she didn't mind that, in fact, she considered the walk to be worthwhile, for in the end, she'd meet faces that weren't unfamiliar to her, faces that acknowledged her for the skills she possessed that were beneficial to the assassination of her favorite teacher. And that was the most part; she'd be able to see her out-of-the-ordinary (inside and out) educator.

Rain continued to fall without remorse as she walked up the fire exit's stairs to her apartment, 560. After her umbrella had been folded, and placed neatly into a plastic to prevent the floor from getting wet, she suddenly felt a rusty taste in her mouth as she opened the door, and from there she prepared herself for the next lonely day.

* * *

The chime rang, symbolizing it was lunch time yet again as students were immediately scattered around the school as soon as they were done bowing. Now Manami followed her usual routine and took her lunchbox – which was neatly wrapped around with a purple towel. From here, she slowly walked her way to the 'haunted' bench where she would have to put away another set of cherry blossom petals. It would be another hour before she would have to walk back to her building which was a relatively far distance from the wooden chair.

_I'm pretty sure she prepared me the same bento since I haven't gone grocery shopping yet…I guess I should go after school today._

With a sigh, Manami made it to her destination, padding away the pink petals once more and sitting herself down on the right side.

Usually she'd sit on the middle of the bench but there was something occupying the left most side of the bench right now so she didn't want to be rude and sit too close to it.

Wait…

From the moment she turned, she found herself staring into mercury colored eyes and short red hair that matched it perfectly with widened eyes. At the sight, her jaw dropped a tad – the hold she had on her chopsticks loosened and they (luckily) fell to the lunch box. In turn, the boy she was looking at also harbored a rather surprised expression as he had his mouth claimed by the straw of a juice box he held in his right palm.

"Karma-kun?!"

**There yo go~! First chapter! Originally the first chapter was to cover the entire first arc but I had a feeling you'd get bored easily if the chapter was way too loooooong and draaaaaaaggiiiiiiinnng so I shortened it up and hopefully it'd only be 2 chapters long since I'm trying my best to finish this story as soon as possible as well as make time to study (even if it's summer). I have to warn you, the story might be longer than I hope for it to be but please leave a review if anything's boring or if anyone's OOC!**

**Leave a review! And P.S.**

**Mikami Erina will return**

**DUN DUN DUUUN!**

**Updates will come as soon as possible and to keep your hopes up somehow, the latest update should be around a week away from the last one. Reviews keep me motivated people! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all you lovely people! Your reviews were able to get me to finish this today ;w; (seriously, I spent my entire day writing this. Now time to play my violin~!)**

**Welp! Here I am with the next installment of "To Reach You" ! This is actually quite long so I'll apologize now if it bored you or if you're bothered by any OOCness! If you have any questions, just either PM me or write a review and I shall respond! And if you find any mistakes, please tell me right away so I may edit and not live in shame too long.**

**Just a warning, this is already the entire first arc which is completely Karmanami. I'm sorry if you get overdosed or...underdosed 8")**

**Now! A response to all of your beautiful reviews!: (this will happen each time a chapter updates)**

** ANON: I'm glad you like it! And I go as fast as I possibly and creatively can uwu**

** Akabane-san: THANK YOU! AND THERE WILL BE MORE SO JUST HANG ON~! AND I LOVE YOU TOO!**

** KyoRina97: Thank you very much and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I absolutely love them too and can't help but feel that there's too less of them on this site and in the anime itself TTwTT. And lastly, I hope this chapter was able to reach your expectations!**

** CelestialGoddess: Your review REALLY helped me a lot with writing this chapter. It made me happy to see it detailed and thank you for the compliments! Speaking of those errors...mind PM-ing me to tell me about them? 8"). And also, about your question...that's for me to know and for you to read on and find out . (I'm a piece of crap, I know). Thank you again and I love Karmanami just as much as you do ^_^**

** harukaaa:Thank you and I'll write as fast as I can! (I definitely don't want summer ending and I'm not finished with this story yet). And Erina is supposed to be a hated character that's essential to Manami's growth as a character. You'll probably see more of her in later chapters...(I'm sorry)**

** animeandmangafangirl: OMG YOU'RE ONE OF THE LAST PEOPLE I EXPECT TO LEAVE A REVIEW BECAUSE YOUR STORIES ARE SO GOOD! TT_TT. I really like your story "Karma has a what?!" And I think Kiyoko's just ADORABLE (even though she can be an annoying little bi-). And I'll continue as long as I have willpower and time! Actually, this fanfic was also inspired from After E. A shame the author hasn't updated in a long time...AND I LOVE YOU TOO~**

**Okay now without any further disruptions, time for the disclaimer: I do not own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu or its characters. Only my OC's and this story ^_^**

**WARNING: KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI****KARMANAMI**

* * *

**Chapter 2: **The Lonely 1st Year and the Redhead that won't keep it that way (end of arc)

"Karma-kun?!"

Manami yelped out of the blue but hurriedly had a hand cover her mouth for being so noisy suddenly.

"Ooohhh! Okuda-san!" Karma exclaimed, putting the juice box away and giving her a pleasant smile. "I didn't know you were attending this school!" he shifted his body to face her properly – the sure thing that was written on his face was that he looked happy to see her.

"Th-That's my line!" Manami yelled once more and mentally slapped herself for being so loud. She couldn't believe it. After all this time, someone close to 'home' was this near – not to mention it's the person that's been by her side most of the time during middle school. Despite the shock, there was some kind of joy forming along with it. Moments later, she realized there was an awkward silence that ensued between them, so she looked for something at the top of her head to talk about. "A-Anyway, that aside, what are you doing at such a secluded area?"

"Well…" Karma's eyeballs moved to the side as a mischievous grin formed on his features "One reason is because Rio's out to get me…" he said in a tone that just plain stated he was in trouble. The face of the angry, bloodthirsty blond appeared in his mind, ready to kill and with a menacing look in her eyes and he snickered at the thought.

He faced her again with his usual smile (which was very nostalgic for the four-eyed chem maniac) "Another reason is because I don't like being around too much people and being pestered by them often." He shrugged at his last few words and rested his back on the bench. He dare not mention most of them were girls.

"Nakamura-san is here too?" Manami's hands rested on the space between them, astonishment written all over her face. Karma looked at her with slightly raised eyebrows "Yeah, you didn't know? So are Hayami-san and Chiba. It's almost been a month since school started though. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"Th-that's…" Manami trailed off. That was when she remembered how that came to be. Abruptly, she stood up and bowed "Oh S-Sorry A-A-Akabane-san. If you'll excuse me. I'm sorry for the intrusion!" She hastily picked up her lunch and other utensils and gave another quick bow before she left the poor redheaded sadist in confusion.

"E-eh?" Was all that came out of his mouth as his eyes followed Okuda-san's running form. She yelled another 'I'm sorry' before completely disappearing from his sight. This left Karma alone with his thoughts; and here he was actually quite glad to see another member of 3-E in his same school – it somehow took the boredom away albeit it be somewhat. Not to mention it was his 'Partner in Crime' Okuda Manami. He knew she was introverted, but he knows it's not to the extent that she would so much as stop herself from getting mixed in with people.

Something was definitely strange…

Narrowed eyes faced the direction the geek flew off to and his brows furrowed. He picked his juice box up one more time and was left to wonder …

_'Akabane-san…huh?'_

* * *

"Okuda-san?"

"Yes, sir?" Manami stood from her seat with respect. Being called out had some of the students look her way – some had blank expressions while others…didn't have really pleasant ones to look at.

"I need another favor from you, is it okay?" he requested while reaching for some papers within his folder. Okuda nodded in acceptance of the task with a smile on her face. "What is it you need, sensei?" her voice was laced with enthusiasm and politeness and the teacher smiled back at this. "Would you please deliver these to the faculty office for me? You seem to be done with your math homework anyway."

"Right away, sir." She gladly took the papers and gently closed the sliding doors once she'd gotten out. Giving into some of her curiosity, she took a glance at the papers; but seeing nothing particularly interesting she simply focused on getting her job done.

That's of course, until she was side-tracked by a fellow she just encountered not too long ago. A slight raise of her head and he was there, walking in the opposite direction she was – his mouth was formed into a frown and his eyes were inscrutable. His hands rested inside his pockets as he eyed her, raising an eyebrow when all she did was look at him in a dumbstruck manner.

Wanting to change the situation they were in, she turned her gaze down to the floor and spoke in a tone just a little above a whisper "Good afternoon, Akabane-san." Followed by the small taps of a petite girl taking fast steps along the hallway.

Karma remained, watching the girl get away again, but this time his expression was blank.

But the same thing wasn't going on beneath that face he made.

* * *

_ Will I have to do that every time I see him? What about when I see the others? Do I have to continue running away like that?_

Thoughts like these swam through Okuda Manami's mind. Her gaze was fixated on the cobblestone road she took home. Thankfully, there was no rain today, so the sunset to her left was beautifully giving out its brilliant orange beyond the bridge's cables and pillars. The sky was painted with a beautiful whirlpool of clouds with mixed colors of red, purple, orange and just a slight tinge of the night sky's blue.

_…I don't like it…but…I don't know what I should do._

_I wonder what will happen…_

She didn't realize it, but there was someone standing on her path, anticipating her arrival – looking her way as his red hair would float due to the breeze by the river. He watched every step she made as they drew her closer to where he was standing. If estimated, she was about 12 meters away from where he stood. His hand was inserted to his pocket as his eyes studied the girl.

_If I continue going on like this…will I eventually become…_

At last, she noticed the presence of another in her way. Slowly , she lifted her gaze from the floor and purple eyes met with mercury. And from there she stopped moving, their orbs were locked together for the third time that day and a silence arose.

_ Forgotten…?_

Karma was the first to break it with one of his signature grins "Yo."

Okuda didn't say anything back; instead, she presented him a pained look and eventually turned her head to the ground again. From the moment she was locked in his stare, she knew that he meant to talk about something, and wasn't letting her get out of it. Not only that, a sudden guilt washed over her for avoiding him twice today already. To do it a third time would be…

"Oii." He snapped her out of her thoughts by giving her a weak karate chop on the head (which still hurt). She let out a muffled cry and flinched at the redhead's gesture "W-what?" she stuttered out and looked up at him.

"So? Who did it?" he started bluntly.

"Did what?"

"That." His finger pointed to her face where her expression laid – an expression that carried the eyes of a lonely rabbit, lost in the confusion of the world. "Who gave you such an ugly face?"

Okuda's eyebrows rose at his words, but not a moment later, her expression turned bleak and she gave up.

Karma already saw through her.

* * *

"I see. So where is this girl now?"

The two were seated by the river. Karma had his arms stationed behind his back to support his leaning body while Manami sat with her knees tucked behind her arms and her chin buried underneath; their bodies faced the setting sun.

"She transferred to another school because of her mother's job just about a week ago. But even then…" her fingers played with some nearby grass as her statement had been carried out cheerlessly.

"Something's weird…" Karma mumbled, his hand going in front of his chin in a thinking-like manner,

"What is?"

"Ah nothing! Never mind…" he quickly brushed away the idea and looked away from her for a few moments. "Anyway, what did you say to her that got everyone so mad in the first place?" he leaned back again, another smile forming on his his face; it was clear that he wanted to listen to her judging from his eyes

"What I said…?" Manami rested a finger on her chin, her purple eyes elevated to signify she was in the process of remembering " Uhm…I think it was along the lines of 'stop being so weak and dumb then' I think…"

Not a second later, Karma burst out laughing.

"H-Heh?! What's so funny?" she gave a small pout to the boy that was currently on the brink of having tears fall from the edge of his eyes due to the laughter – he even had to hold his stomach to keep from losing balance.

"You really said that?! Wow!" by this point, he had begun to calm down and face her properly again after wiping a single tear off.

"I don't think it's something to really praise though, Mika—I mean… she looked kind of hurt when I said that…" her eyes travelled downward guiltily and her hands balled into fists by the sides of her knees. It would be better not to tell him her name; she wouldn't want to further complicate things

And the wind drifted by – Karma looked at her with raised eyebrows for a second or two until his stare shifted to the sun. "_Any woman that dares call herself air-headed and hopeless is really just a pain in the ass to deal with."_

Manami turned sharply to look at him when she heard familiar words escape his mouth. "That's something Bitch-sensei said once, right?" Karma stared at her once again with a grin of reassurance. Understanding where he was coming from, she nodded and gave him a warm smile.

"But still, what gave you the courage to say that?" he said in such a tone that sounded like he was biting back a small snicker. The girl gaped at him once more due to the unexpected question "Hm? Well…" she faced the setting sun again, but this time there were already a few stars twinkling above them – '_weak but still pretty '_she thought absentmindedly

"Korosensei once taught me something." She didn't need to look at Karma to know that his face had changed from playful to serious. "There was a time when I felt useless during an assassination attempt since I couldn't voice out my opinions for the plan because I was afraid that I might end up saying something awkward or not good enough. So…when Korosensei had me open up about it, he told me that if I'm honest about things and the way I felt, I'd feel satisfied with myself, I'd feel free and burdens will escape my chest, he said; that eventually, people will warm up to this honesty of mine…but I guess it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped it to be…"

Korosensei had left them with bittersweet memories. And Manami knew that among all the others in the class, Karma was one of the most devastated out of all of them.

It was quiet for a while; all that could be heard was the subtle winds of spring and the crickets that begin to coo during evenings. The sun was only seconds away from setting completely, and you could even hear the waves of the river having contact with the land as its water would kiss the shore.

Then he spoke.

"Isn't that okay? Even if they're not okay with what you said, as long as you are, you're not really fighting any battle or holding any burden, right? From the moment you speak what you feel in strong-hearted and doubtless way, you become the traveler passing by an aimless war." Karma gave her a knowing smile and placed a hand atop her head. "Don't worry, you did what was right."

And the chemist blinked at the mention of her doing the right thing. It was refreshing – it's been long since anyone's actually praised her for something she thought was completely pathetic of herself. Turning her head to look at him, she was shown an uplifting smile.

She was reminded of that time in Kyoto, when he praised her for running away rather than acting like a noble hero trying to save everyone. Even amidst all of her incompetence, he was able to bring up something positive about her decisions. The edges of her lips went upwards and she had to bury her head to hide her ridiculous looking smile.

"Alright, now that it's settled, let's both go home" Karma raised himself off the grass and swung his schoolbag on his left shoulder.

"Heh?! N-No need! You already spent too much of your time with me! I can go home alone!" it was Manami's turn to stand up – her hands waved around frantically to prove she didn't want him to do so much for her.

"Just let me~" he persisted, sticking a tongue out childishly.

"I'd feel bad—"

"Your house is this way right?" Karma was already far away, a hand was stationed above his eyes as he looked to the direction of her home.

"When did you—!" and that's when she gave up with an exasperated sigh.

* * *

The bell rang across the hallways marking the beginning of lunch time, and as usual, a young chemist would choose an early time like this to make her leave, heading to her special seclusion. But that was until she noticed something odd going on with her classmates – especially the girls.

They had their heads at the other side of the door, looking at something – rather, some_one_ – whilst whispering things to each other. When Manami's curiosity got to her and she stepped closer to the scene, she could overhear the conversation the group of girls were having.

"Hey, that guy looks kind of hot doesn't he?"

"I don't think I've seen him around before, is he a transfer student?"

"No, but I heard there was someone that looked like him who was a delinquent that often skipped classes."

"A bad boy? That's kind of cool!"

"Should we go say hi to him?"

And so on and so forth. Upon the mention of the words 'delinquent' and 'skipping classes', she had a hunch she knew who it was and walked outside of the classroom. There he stood, casually leaning on the wall with a juicebox in hand and his other on inside his pocket. Classic Karma. It looked like he was waiting for someone until his objective came to view and he waved at her with his pocketed hand.

The wave had, apparently, caused the flurry of whispers to escalate their noise level. At this, she bit her bottom lip slowly approached the male. "Uhm…Akabane-san?"

"Good afternoon, Okuda-san" he chimed and Okuda could've sworn she heard some quiet squeals and distasteful comments she dare not pay any mind to, so she turned her full attention to the troublemaking redhead "Might I ask why you're here right now? Wouldn't you rather be someplace else?"

"Let's have lunch together~" he said playfully, already prepared to make his way to where they had their first encounter.

"Eh?! But—"

"Come on~" he teased. By this time, he was already pulling her by the wrist; and since he was obviously stronger than her, she easily had no chance to fend him off. Her shoulders tensed up and she became frantic; sweat began to bead on her forehead due to the nervousness despite the cold weather – especially when the commotion behind her seemed to heighten.

"Whoa! Wai-wait!"

* * *

Okuda Manami was disgruntled. It was written all over her face as Karma rambled on about the crowd earlier and how funny it looked in his point of view – how the corridors were flooded with girls and how there was a raging animosity within the jealous eyes of the other school boys that caught his eye.

"…man, that was actually a little amusing!" he chuckled after his last statement regarding the topic and glanced at his companion's not so pleasant face. His smile faded at the sight, looking just a tad bit troubled "Did I make you angry?"

Okuda relaxed her shoulders and looked down at her cute pink chopsticks "No, it's just…" she turned her head to face him. "You don't exactly have a reason to be with me so wouldn't you rather spend this time with someone else or doing something much more enjoyable?"

Karma blinked.

"Does there have to be a reason? I like having you around. Is that a problem?" he stated it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world as the classic Karma grin showed itself once more. His words however, appeared to have lightened up her mood somehow. "Not at all but…" She wasn't entirely convinced by his answer, since she's never been told by anyone she was someone anyone would actually 'like' having around, but not wanting to dwell on this any longer, she decided to change the subject.

"You mentioned before that Nakamura-san, Chiba-san and Hayami-san were in this same school?" success, but it's not as if she didn't want to talk about it either way.

"Yeah, they're my classmates in 1-B, which was a pleasant surprise even for me. Okajima's in class D though – fella just won't stop following the tsundere sniper." Manami let out a small laughter as memories of the perverted boy following around the stoic ginger resurfaced. Funny, she hasn't been able to have this kind of conversation with anyone in weeks. It was refreshing, to be able to talk to someone without having to overthink about almost every little detail.

"But shouldn't you have seen them during the entrance ceremony?" Karma snapped her out of her little reverie and sipped on his juice, his chin rested on his palm.

"W-well…" then a memory of being squeezed in between two delinquent girls with way too much make-up on in the back-most row came to mind. The two were having a conversation that went something like:

'How's your latest boyfriend?'

'I dumped him.'

'Again?'

'No choice, he performed bondage play on me once when I was drunk. I'd rather he do that when I'm sober'

'You really are picky with your men.'

"I was occupied…" the poor geek cringed as her eyes looked off to the side; it was as if there were blue lines forming at the side of her head just by the simple memory of it.

"Sounds like a bad memory." Karma sweatdropped, a smile out of pity formed on his face when the shorter girl cringed at the mere mention of entrance ceremony.

"Never mind it please. In any case, you said that you didn't know I was going to this school, but shouldn't _you_ have seen me during the ceremony too?" Karma scoffed at the question.

"You expect me to attend something as boring as that?" he leaned back on his chair, hands tied behind his head.

"Now that I think about it, the top-scorer of the entrance exam was a no-show that day…" Manami's mind wandered back to the day of the entrance ceremony, wherein the members of the faculty were undergoing a panic and anxiously whispering amongst each other for their speech giver was not present for his…speech.

"Was it you, Akabane-san?!" Okuda turned to him with eyes bearing admiration for him. She was barely able to make it through Japanese. She knew that if Karma were to take the test he'd handle it easily, but the fact he was the highest scorer of the examination still made her happy for him. He gave an exhausted sigh and nodded in a deadpan style.

"So you aced all of the tests?"

"All but one." He replied radiantly and stuck his tongue out like he was proud of such a slip-up.

"Which one, then?"

"Conduct." he said it with a knowing tone (since he was very well aware of his problematic behavior)

_'Should've known…' _it was Okuda's turn to sweatdrop.

The sound of a slow, tuneful bell filled the entire campus and its member's ears to denote that lunchtime had come to a close. Like always, Okuda would stand up right away and pack her things neatly, making sure the bench was still tidy before walking off to class – it was like her to be punctual. Before she took her leave, she faced Karma and tilted her head a little "You're going to class, right?"

"Yeah, I'll get going." But he made no effort to stand up. Manami felt like there was a mild hesitation before he answered but dismissed it as her imagination and continued to walk away, giving him a nod before she completely departed from the area.

* * *

**Main building, After School**

** 5:30 pm, an hour after the regular dismissal**

_'Oh yeah, I forgot to go grocery shopping yesterday…' _

Thought the dark haired girl as the sound of her footsteps rang across the empty corridors of the Kimii campus. Her glasses shined with the same shade of orange the sun was giving out. Lately the weather's been less intense; the storms decreased and the most they would see of water droplets from the sky would be drizzles that would only last mere minutes and afterwards the sun would shine in its full glory. Manami always took times like these to actually appreciate the majestic sights nature would present her – which was a rare occasion, for most of the time she catches herself looking at the floor rather than what's above her.

_'I guess I'll go today then, I think I brought enough money…" _The girl stuck her hand inside her bag and scavenged for her wallet while she made her way to the shoe locker.

Little did she expect someone to be waiting for her at that exact same spot. He was leaning casually on the columns of lockers, hands inserted in his pockets as he seemed to be thinking about something until he saw her arrive and greeted her "Yo."

The chemist bit her bottom lip and took a few steps closer to where he was, the grip she had on the handle of her bag getting tighter. "Akabane-san, were you waiting for someone?"

"I was until she finally arrived." He lifted himself from the lockers and faced her properly.

"Why were you waiting for me?" she didn't have to ask why, since this boy's been following her around for the past two days now, but she just did so for conversation's sake. Though she did want to know what he wanted from her this time.

"Let's go get juice together."

* * *

Okuda wasn't sure how or why she got stuck in this kind of situation, she just was. How Karma had gotten her to follow him and his every whim, she didn't know. Currently, the two were seated at a bench outside the convenience store. Karma was already happily sipping his strawberry juice while Manami was yet to even try consuming it. It remained in her hands as its water dripped from the cold temperature of the grape flavored liquid. Her eyes remained downcast while Karma talked about how he had yet again messed with a certain overfamiliar blond in his class.

"Uh—" Manami tried to speak her mind – to ask once more why he's doing these things with her only to be cut off when he abruptly stood up and pointed towards something in the distance.

"Over there!" Manami's shoulders rose up in surprise at his sudden exclamation.

"W-What's over there?"

"I think I saw a frog leaping by the river." Without hesitation, he jogged over to the location he pointed to and left the slow Okuda in a panic as she yelled for him to wait for her and quickly picked up their bags to hang them on each of her shoulders, juice still in hand.

"Akabane-san!" she panted and placed her hands on her knees to try catching her breath once she caught up to him. Karma was crouched down as he stared intently into the large grass found next to the river, a relaxed smile plastered above his chin. Okuda found herself staring at it as well; true, it was indeed a frog. Its dark eyes looked around for a while and found them staring at it. The frog looked natural when it found Manami's eyes, but once it looked at Karma's wolfish ones, it looked like it tensed up a bit.

"I wonder if it's poisonous…" he uttered, already forming mischievous plans in that twisted noggin of his. Manami crouched down next to him and studied the frog for a bit

"I don't think it is…Poisonous frogs aren't really found in large cities." Her scientific side had begun to show itself, and Karma couldn't help but smile when he noticed the girl's eyes glint with interest. This was the Okuda-san he knew, and he hasn't seen it for the past two days despite having been with her during those times.

"Lucky guy then, I would've dissected it and relieved it of all its pride and glory." And the two could've sworn they heard the frog scream in horror internally as it jumped away from the duo. Manami giggled at the scene

"Dissecting would be fun, but I think I'd feel sorry for the little guy."

"Speaking of poisons, maybe you should cook some up for me like last time. We can work on it inside the Chemistry lab when Mikagura-sensei's out" Karma slyly commented, but it appeared to have given Okuda a frown.

"Anyway, as I was saying earlier, why—"

"Oh, Okuda-san, you haven't touched your juice yet." His finger pointed to the fruity drink she kept in between her palms.

"Ah— oh yeah…" she had forgotten she had the drink with her, and also the fact that she had to ask him his reasons for what he's been doing for the past days now. She took the straw out of its plastic containment and inserted it to the drink.

"But anyway—"she cut herself off after taking one sip off of her juice just to yelp out _"that tastes good!"_ and gaze at the indigo-colored box in pure awe – she apparently enjoyed it so much you could see the stars twinkling by her head.

"You've never had a juice box before?" Karma looked at her with amuse; seeing the girl petrified by the juice was undeniably adorable.

Manami shook her head as she continued to sip "This is my first time—"

_He changed the topic again!_

"But at any rate—"Once she separated her lips from the straw's end she tried to start once more, only to be cut off again with another sentence coming from him.

"That's grape right? For some reason I think it kind of suits you~" he teased and stood from his spot to look at the own across the bridge.

"Really?" _'Ah! Not again!' _

She stood up to try to be in level with him (albeit knowing how short she is compared to the tall boy), this time she was a little fed up with having unfinished sentences. So now, she was definitely not gonna allow herself to keep her words in this time.

"Uhm, Akabane-sa—"

"Oh yeah, I think that's the flavor I haven't tried out yet." And there he goes again.

"Listen—"

"Care to give me a taste, Okuda-san?" he was really just making fun of her this time, and though it may be rare for Manami to have an outburst, this is one of the times it happened.

"Karma-kun!" she shouted, her eyes snapped shut and her shoulders tensed up. Her cheeks were red due to his embarrassing statement and slightly because of the frustration of being ignored. So many feelings were filling her up right now and she was naturally too slow of a person to really deal with such thoughts.

That outburst must've caused a lot of energy for the petite little girl started to pant. She had lots of other things to say like 'Please stop cutting me in mid-sentence!' or 'Listen to me!' but she had a feeling all of it had been relayed with just those words. When she opened her eyes however, she saw Karma giving her a genuine smile.

"Finally."

"What do you mean by finally?!" she absentmindedly yelled – perhaps she was still in the midst of recovering from her earlier outbreak.

"You called me by my first name~" He truly looked like he was happy with the way things turned out.

Okuda uttered a small surprised sound. Was that what he was trying to do this whole time?

"So, what is it?" _now _he was willing to listen to her. All of the _'Akabane-san' _business just didn't sit right with him after all. Sure he'd let anyone else call him that, but to hear it come from her mouth was just off.

"Oh! Uh…" He caught her off-guard with the inquiry, since she seemed to have forgotten what she wanted to talk about in the middle of her apprehension.

Karma waited for her to collect her words as he watched her take a deep breath and started "Like I said before, why do you do this? I haven't really done anything for you, and I doubt I'm the most entertaining person to talk to so…"

_Why do you keep giving me memories to cherish…?_

"So…wouldn't you rather—"

"Again with the 'would you rather'?" _'Did he just cut me off again?!'_

Karma took a few steps forward so he would lean his head down so their eyes met directly. "I said it before right? I don't need a reason to be with you, I just want to. And if there was something I'd rather do, I'd do it, right?" He gently pushed the girls chin up with fingers "So stop looking down and look up once in a while, hm?"

Karma's sincere smile and supportive eyes reflected on Manami's spectacles – and behind the two pieces of glass were slightly widened eyes.

_Sniffle._

"Huh?" The edges of Manami's eyes had suddenly brimmed with tears moments later, and she wasn't sure of the reasons why. "Huh?" she repeated after she gently pulled away from Karma's touch to remove her glasses and wipe her face – but that didn't stop any of the tears from continuing their path down her cheeks.

"S-Sorry…I'm crying without knowing the reason why." She stifled out a small laugh but it was quickly overtaken by her silent sobs that escalated after each word and after every attempt to stop the flow of saltwater from her eyes as they dropped to the ground.

It was futile to rub her eyes anymore, so she took her hands and covered her face with them, which caused her glasses fall from her face – luckily, Karma was able to catch them because of his reflexes. "I'm sorry you have to see this…" she mumbled, but it was audible enough to reach the redhead's ears.

"There, there." And he stroked her head, he was happy that his Okuda-san wasn't holding her emotions in anymore like she always did for the entire time he's known her. And from there, he watched her choke out sobs and let her tears stream down to her heart's content.

_I'm not sure of the reason why my emotions took over me at that time…_

_Why was this person so nice to me?_

_I didn't even do anything for him, and yet I poured my feelings out in front of his sight; I should be ashamed, he's the last person that deserves to deal with me..._

_But even still…_

_…I was so stupidly happy…_

* * *

Two pairs of footsteps walked under the evening sky, lamp posts lit their way as they continued the silent yet comforting journey back home. Some cars would pass them by, and sometimes there would be the sound of barking dogs during the night time, but all of these mundane sounds were, in one way or another, more pleasant compared to the other times Manami would walk down this road.

_Sniffle._

"You're still crying?" Karma's head turned to look at her face with curiosity.

"Sorry…"

"Eh – You don't really need to say sorry for that." He amended his mistake when he saw the guilt in Okuda's eyes.

"Okay…" Once she noticed they were in front of her apartment building, she halted. "This far is okay." She told him and he waved her a goodbye, continuing down the same path since that was where his house was. The fact they didn't live that far from one another was quite unexpected – they'd known each other since middle school and yet they didn't know their houses weren't a large distance away from each other.

Before Manami walked up the fire escape's stairs, she called his name once again.

"Karma-kun!" and she watched him turn around, his never-faltering smile that always lifted her spirits somewhat, revealed itself to her.

She felt something growing in her chest – it was the familiar feeling of wanting to word out your feelings. The last time she felt this surge of courage was in front of a scary brunette, but this time it's different. Her eyes gave the message that she was determined to let her honest feelings reach him, she wanted them to reach him, hoping he'd take them to heart and know that they mean a lot to her.

"Thanks for today…and all the other days. They really mean a lot to me…" her expression did not falter, it was clear to all those who would look at it that she was serious and truly sincere about those words. Her hands were balled into fists as they continued to stare at each other.

_Did they reach you…?_

To her utmost shock (and agony) he laughed. "You're not getting rid of me with a thank you." And there was the cheeky grin again – did he think she was joking?!

A sudden wave of dolefulness washed over the (very) disappointed geek at the words.

If she could die anytime, now would be a good time.

"Th-that's not what I—"she pouted, but her mouth was zipped when Karma spoke out his next words.

"Don't thank me; I'll gladly do it as many times as I want, so don't think I'll be leaving any time soon. Good night, Okuda-san~" and with a final wave of goodbye, he disappeared into the dark road, leaving Manami standing there with an idiot's grin on.

_'Oh wait...I forgot to go grocery shopping again!'  
_

* * *

For a reason she wasn't sure of, Manami was rather ecstatic today. Why? Probably because she finally went grocery shopping earlier this morning at around 5 am; or maybe it was because the sun was shining that day and the cherry blossoms were on their final days of bloom, which made them look all the more beautiful. No, it was because once class is over she'll be able to see someone she enjoys talking to, and not someone she has to avoid or filter words for.

Today was Saturday, so Kimii would only hold half a day of class. So once the last teacher dismissed 1 – C, Okuda was fast to fix her things and was one of the first ones to almost leave the classroom until

"Okuda-san?" it was the class representative, Kimizuki Rei. She had short black hair whose tips brushed against her neck and aquatic blue eyes – underneath one of them laid a small mole and the girl stood at almost the same height as she did. Her hands were formed into a praying position and her head was bowed – she needed something from her.

"Sorry to interrupt you when you're in a hurry, but could you please stay and clean the classroom for today? Miyamura-kun who was assigned to do it ran away and went off to karaoke, so, if you please?" she pleaded, it was clear she had something she needed to do, and it had to be done right away.

Okuda Manami only wishes to be helpful to the class, that's a given; but after she heard the words come out of her mouth, she felt a little crushed inside – she wasn't going to see him as soon as she hoped - heck, she might not even see him today.

But without thinking, she nodded her head. Kimizuki smiled and bowed properly "Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll make sure to tell Amamiya-sensei about your hard work! Thanks again, Okuda-san!" and without another moment to waste, Kimizuki-san ran outside the classroom, leaving Manami to the empty room of 1-C.

* * *

"And that's the last of it." The dark haired girl smiled proudly to herself for being able to clean the place up within a duration of 34 minutes (yes, she counts).

She scanned the room for any more suspicious and unwanted signs of dirt, but dismissing there were none left, she picked up her bag and smiled at her work. But a heavy feeling seemed to have remained on her chest as she took slow steps outside of the classroom.

_I wonder if he's still there…_

The image of a tall redhead leaned on the shoe locker flashed in her mind.

_Just like last time…_

She decided it wasn't too bad to hope and continued her walk down the hallway of the first year classrooms. Her mind brimmed with things they might be able to do together again, and frankly, she wanted to try that juice again.

_Maybe when I see him, I'll ask if we can get some juice together._ She smiled at the thought. What flavor should she try next? Karma-kun always had a strawberry juice box for as long as she could remember, maybe she should try that one next?

"I'm sorry for being so sudden but…!"

And Manami stopped dead in her tracks. Her body froze and her violet orbs shrunk beneath her shineless eyeglasses.

For some reason or another, the hallway looked darker than usual regardless of the radiant sun above their heads this day. The hold she had on the strap of her bag tightened when the following words reverberated through the vacant hallways.

"But...! For a while now…!" A girl exclaimed, she had short black hair from where Manami could see it, and she couldn't miss the mole underneath those closed eyes and reddened cheeks of hers.

_Kimizuki…-san…?_

"I've liked you for a while now! Akabane-kun!"

_Boom_

Okuda's body grew cold as a chill waved all around her body. There stood Karma, his hands inside his pockets as he looked down on the girl. His lips were formed into a thin line, and even if Manami wanted to know what his reaction was like (which she really didn't), she wouldn't be able to for his red locks hovered above them, making it impossible to read his expression.

Upon impulse, she ran away from the scene. Shock? No, it was something more than that. It was _fear._

_It's going to happen again._

She took sharp but quiet steps towards the school's exit as she panted heavily, a little paranoia filling her mind each step she took away from the scene.

Something flashed in her mind – it was a dark, gloomy classroom. Rain poured down remorselessly outside the window, and all possible colors were just grayscale. And seated at the back row of an empty classroom was a small girl with dark hair, fixed with two braids that fell on her shoulders, and glasses that had no ounce of sparkle in them – all alone, she took notes as the faceless teacher would write on the board.

_I'm going to be alone again…_

The image of her father with the words _'I'm sorry, Manami-chan'_ suddenly flashbacked in her head, and on instinct she took her hands and blocked her ears – as if that would help get rid of the memory. Of all the things she had to be reminded of today, it had to be her worst memory.

With gritted teeth, she ran out of the building and sulked by the wall next to the doors with tucked knees and just buried her head beneath her arms. And just then, one more memory _had_ to resurface.

It was spring, the day of her middle school graduation. She stood behind the exit gates of Kunugigaoka Middle School and watched all of her beloved classmates walk away with their futures. And as if her mind wanted to play symbolic tricks on her, the gates of the school closed, leaving her all alone inside the dull middle school

_I'll be left behind again…_

* * *

She didn't know how long she was there, but it felt like hours of just sulking and being alone with her thoughts.

_What would happen, I wonder…if Karma-kun got a girlfriend…__  
_

She pictured having lunch on the bench with Kimizuki-san and Karma minding their own business while she would eat and silently be the third wheel. Then she thought about their walks to school, and how she'd be around a meter away from the two as they went on with their love life.

_'Either that would happen or…they'll completely leave me out of the picture'_ and the sulking just doubled. Now it felt as if there was a dark, brooding atmosphere hovering above her area.

"Oh, Okuda-san, you're still here?"

And that's when her eyes snapped open. Slowly, she lifted her head and was graced with Karma's face looking down at her against the bright sun. He had his usual face on as his arm rested on the wall next to her to support his body.

For a few seconds, Manami just looked at him – utterly dumbfounded when a blast of energy coursed through her veins and she jumped up, nearly bumping into Karma's chin. This boy was lucky to be the best assassin of 3-E, if he wasn't, he would've gone home with a broken jaw.

"Heh?! Karma-kun?!"

Karma, quite taken aback, responded with a hesitant "Uh…in the flesh?"

"But—! I thought you were with Kimizuki-san—" someone should give her a forehead flicking after saying that. _'Crud! I just gave away the fact that I was eavesdropping!'_

She started to wave her arms around hysterically to try and make an excuse for knowing about that until Karma flat out responded with "I rejected her."

Manami stopped fidgeting around and looked up at him with surprised eyes. Rejected? So he's…not going to date her?

A moment later, he showed another one of his grins and picked her bag up to hand it to her "C'mon, let's go home~" he offered and began to walk on to the way their houses were. But the glasses-ed girl was yet to move from her spot as she stared at him walk.

So I've been overthinking this entire time…

Feeling refreshed, she did not hesitate to say the following words "Karma-kun!"

He stopped walking and looked back to where she stood, only to have her show him a face he never saw from her before. Her eyes gleamed under the sun despite the glasses blocking them and her smile could be in Karma's list of 'top most sincere things I've seen in my life' and she was standing with a bright and inviting aura all around her – what's more, the wind seemed to be in his favor today as it just enhanced the image she was giving him. To say Karma was amazed is an understatement.

"Can we…Can we go out for juice again?"

The redhead just stared at her in astonishment, to give him that kind of view, and all she wanted was that? Now he was really interested in this girl; finally, something worthwhile – he thought. At her request and his own thoughts, he laughed

"Are you an idiot?"

"Eh?!" _'Maybe I was asking too much?'_

"Dummy, you don't have to ask."

_At that moment, I finally felt like I was graduating Class E for real this time._

_I'll take these new experiences head-on and move on._

_I'm not an assassin, Korosensei's not my teacher, and I'm not a student of Kunugigaoka middle school anymore._

_I'm Okuda Manami, first year student of Kimii High school. I'm shy, socially awkward, introverted and very bad with words.  
_

She was walking behind Karma for the most time until he turned and waved for her to walk next to him, and she gladly obliged and jogged over.

_…and I'm going for a ride_

* * *

_'Let me just hear it one more time...'  
_

"I still want a taste of that grape juice though."

"Karma-kun!"

"Kidding~"

* * *

**So...how was it? 8"3**

**I'm not entirely proud of some parts of this chapter, but I hope it was able to reach your expectations as readers! Was it too long? I'm sorry if it was and I'm sorry if I rushed things too much (that or made things way too slow). But I'm planning to finish this before school starts and it's quite long when I look at it and honestly I'm scared I might not. If there's any OOCness, don't hesitate to tell me.**

**PLEASE KEEP ME GOING I LIKE THIS STORY ;W;**

**Anyways, this arc was purely for your Karmanami feelings and some other things like some character development to open up to the next events. If anything, this feels more like a prologue. So by the next chapter, expect more characters!**

**Btw, anyone care to enlighten me about Karma's familial background? 8D**

**And for convenience's sake, NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW!:**

**Clubs, more Friends, and the Troubles that Come with it. **

**What happens when Karma decides to shake things up and create a club of his own? What can Manami do to stop him from wrecking the entire school with his pranks and whimsical plans? Does she stop him? Or does she get sucked into them? ******Oh wow Rinka, Rio and Ryuunosuke finally make their debut! But who reaches out to who, Manami, or them?** And who's Isura Mai? And what's that thing with her? Is that a pig or a baby bear? Wait so their dating...but their not? Mikagura-sensei's an otaku?!**

**FIND OUT MORE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **


	3. Chapter 3

**HELLO HELLO! HAPPY MAY! I'm back with another chapter of "To Reach You"!  
**

**Omg, all your reviews made me so happy I just had to write more! ;w;**

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I've updated as fast as I could because of two reasons:**

**1.) YOU ALL ROCK**

**2.)I'm too afraid of not being able to finish this story in time before summer ends.**

**So this chapter's pretty long, and I hope it's as interesting as you deemed my second chapter to be ^_^**

**REVIEW REPLIES!:**

** I12Bfree: Thank you~! And I love those stories so much it drove me to writing this 8")  
**

** purplepaisley05: Thanks and I love you too! **

** KyoRina97: Thank you very much for another review! Thank you for your comments and I love Karmanami *w*. I hope this was able to please you!**

** ANON: I'm glad I lifted the mood! May this chapter do the same if ever ;w;**

** animeandmangafangirl: I'm glad it did and you make me happy too! OMG THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO FILL ME IN ON HIS FAMILY BACKGROUND. IT HELPED WITH MY IDEA FORMULATING X'3. But I'd like to ask you too if you know what kind of relationship they share; specifically, if it's not too much trouble ^_^. Thanks for reading this story too and I look forward to your next chapter of "Karma has a what?!"! **

** Akabane-san: Glad this was fangirl-worthy! And I'll continue don't worry! Just hope I make it in time...**

** Akikarui: Thanks for leaving a review! And I'm glad you love it!**

** Mugipyon: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POINTING THAT OUT! Of course I have amended my mistake so that made me really happy. Thank you for a long review and for Karma's family background! I couldn't find the character book, so if you can, and want to, please send me the link if you have time 8)**

** kawaiichoconeko: OHGOD IS THIS FOR REAL? I'VE READ ALL OF YOUR KARMANAMI FANFICS BLESS YOU FOR REVIEWING! Along with animeandmangafangirl I didn't really expect you to write a review here because I'm inferior 8"""). THANKS AND I WUV KYUU!**

** Quilla The Silent: That review made me feel giddy like a school girl. It really pushed me to finish this up quickly and THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENTS!**

** natsuki DDS: Thank you and that A/N was taken care of! ;D**

**Okay enough dragging, time for "To Reach You" Chapter 3!**

**Enjoy~!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Clubs, More Friends and the Troubles that come with it (Part I)**

_April's finally coming to an end…_

**Friday, April 30**

It was a bright, blue, beautiful spring morning. The clouds were beautifully painted upon the magnificent azure dome that enveloped the earth. The elderly had begun to take their early 6 am walks around the clean and peaceful sidewalks of Japan. Others already took advantage of the early hour by going into convenience stores to buy their meals for the day before they face long hours of work. The cherry blossoms neared their final days as its petals danced in the air and covered the cobblestone road with tiny pink dots.

The smell of fresh eggs, pastries and fried rice floated in the air within a nearby apartment's kitchen.

Inside, a rather short girl with glasses was in the middle of preparing a meal for two. Her hair was a mess even though her uniform was already on since she'd only gotten out of bed half an hour ago without any care to fix herself before doing her chores. She hummed no particular tune and was making her own notes to her own morning song to make her work more enjoyable.

After she cooked the meal into perfection, she reached for two trays and neatly placed the food on each of them. One tray consisted of a bowl of fried rice topped with a sunny side up egg, with a small chocolate tart for dessert. This was her breakfast for the new day. The other tray had a plate of small waffles doused in honey and cream, with a side dish of egg soup; this one was for—

"Morning." A womanly voice came from the other side of the apartment followed by the gentle shut of a bedroom door.

"Good morning, Inari-nee." Manami greeted back with enthusiasm to the older woman – she had a spaghetti strapped red top covered with a yellow hoodie and jogging pants underneath; her short dark red hair was a mess but she didn't give it any thought as she yawned and made her way to the kitchen to open up the refrigerator.

The spectacled adolescent frowned at her action. "Inari-nee, it's too early for you to drink" but this scold only earned her a scoff from the other. The woman named Inari showed her a smirk "When you're older there's no early time for alcohol." And with a wink she sat herself down on the kitchen table to await her meal and consume her drink.

"I'm not going to drink when I get older." The other retorted but chuckled at her adult-like tone afterwards. The thought of a 15 year old scolding a woman in her early thirties was actually quite amusing every morning. After turning the flame off and serving the trays gently, she joined her caretaker for their usual breakfast.

They happily ate as the minutes passed and discussed the mundane things in their lives as of late. While Inari talked about her job as the school's nurse and how troublesome the students were getting lately and it's only been a month in, Manami would unknowingly talk about the lunches and walks home she'd spend with a precious friend of hers.

"Hey, Manami, what did you put in the waffles today?" Inari inquired with curiosity laced on her voice as she eyed the small treat with ease. The younger girl smiled "I tried experimenting with the fruits I bought yesterday and tried making a fruity and dairy combination today. It was fun to have trial and error yesterday evening; did I mix them in correctly?" there was a sparkle on her purple orbs as she eagerly told her about her little 'science experiments'. Inari couldn't help but smile at how much the girl loved to experiment. She's noticed this trait of hers since the year she became her guardian 11 years ago.

"Yes, you did." And she took another delightful bite until the clock caught her eye. "Oh, it's time for you to go."

"Ah! It's already this time?" she immediately lifted herself from her seat and prepared to fix her tray but was stopped by Inari "I'll fix things up here. You're Bento's over there. Hurry and get yourself out of here before Shouta yells at you." She joked and proceeded to clean up the table and hand the small girl a comb and two small bands for her to fix her hair on the way, which Manami gladly took from her before pouting.

"Amamiya-sensei's nice! He won't yell."

"Yeah, yeah whatever, now go." She gently pushed the teen out the door with 560 inscribed on it, a small 'oompf!' came out of Okuda's mouth in the process.

"I'll be going now!" she waved a goodbye and jogged towards the stairs.

"Have a safe trip!" before she could close the door, something abruptly came to mind "Oh yeah! Manami!"

Fortunately, Manami wasn't so far yet when she called, which caused the petite-framed girl to halt and look back with quizzical eyes.

"What are you going to do about clubs today?"

* * *

_Clubs hm…?_

That's right; since April was ending clubs would have to be introduced during May. Kimii had a policy to prioritize education rather than extra-curricular activities; hence they dedicated the entire first month to pure academics.

By now, Manami had made it to the road in front of the school gates – she usually came earlier than most so no one walked alongside her.

"I wonder which one I should join…?" she mumbled to herself while looking up to admire the shedding cherry blossoms and blue sky in hopes to maybe find some inspiration _'I could join the botany club…'_ she could already picture herself measuring and studying plants and creating a greener environment with her fellow club members, but the daydream was ruined when she imagined herself creating formulas for 'better plant growth' but accidentally killing several ones with just a drop – from this, she could already imagine korosensei's red 'X' face and sighed.

A mischievous boy abruptly took over her train of thought and she couldn't help but begin to wonder _'I wonder what club he wants to join…'_

Just when the question came to mind, she spotted something on the path she was walking. From where Manami could see, it looked like a giant, brown ball of fur sniffing something intently, but upon closer inspection, she took notice of a small round tail and round ears similar to the traits a bear would possess. But after she took another step towards it, the small creature became alarmed and took a sharp turn to face the curious girl.

But curiosity quickly transformed into confusion when she had a good look of its face. Its eyes looked like thick vertical black lines with that white shine on the side while its legs were no shorter than half a ruler and underneath were black hooves. And finally the most prominent part, a pig's snout.

"Wha—"

"_Omo-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"_ Manami's shoulders jerked up at the sudden cry of a young girl – who currently came running at an amazing speed to their direction; in fact, it was so fast you can practically see smoke behind her.

And as if on cue, the peculiar creature hopped off to the school gates with a 'pwii!'

_"Omo-chaaaan! Wait!"_

"Uwoah!"

The poison lover didn't have time to register any of the incoming girl's characteristics aside from pale brown hair tied with a big green bow behind her head, for the mysterious female just raced past her and had her stumble down to the ground, with nothing left to do other than watch the weird duo have a chase-off into the school as the mystery girl obstinately called for it to wait.

Moments after they disappeared, Manami still sat there, trying to decipher what just happened with furrowed brows and a dumbstruck expression.

"What was that... just now?"

* * *

Class that day was more active than usual in 1-C. Of course, it's the day where the first years would have a chance to choose which club they want to join. Naturally, that was the topic of discussion for the day, so it easily distracted the adolescent scientist so she may forget about the events of that morning.

The entire morning session was dedicated to the showcasing of each club as they go room to room in the first year level. Manami would often hear conversations about the decisions they made and also conversations of those who really couldn't decide, but she could care less about that. As for herself, she was unsure. Since the botany club was a big 'no' for her, she considered the physics club, only to be disappointed by the lack of activeness from the members when they performed, so she was back to square one of her decision-making.

_Later that day…_

"Hey, Karma-kun. Have you thought about your club yet?" Okuda curiously tilted her head when she asked.

The two were having lunch at their usual spot behind the senior's building. Karma leaned on the bench in his carefree manner with a milk carton in his hand and Manami had her usual bento neatly placed on top of her lap as her posture was perfect. Karma's eyes were the perfect image of boredom when he heard the question. "None of them are interesting." He worded out bluntly and all she could answer with was "I see."

"What about you? Find anything?" his tone was dull, but he was still kind enough to put a little bit of curiosity to his tone.

"Well…" the image of a greenhouse being destroyed by a mutant Venus flytrap she created by accident flashed in her mind "I don't think I've found anything either…" she responded faintly and looked away to hide the troubled smile on her face, which Karma took notice of.

"Really?" he pressed on but Okuda brushed it away by saying "Really." and nodded vigorously, still with her face hidden from him.

"Okay…" he decided to not push through with the subject any longer and just continued to have his drink in silence with her.

From that point, the two continued with their usual everyday conversation. There were times when Manami would still be unsure of her words or get the wrong idea, but Karma would always know what to do whenever times like those arise. Lately, the girl had been showing signs of improvement from her former introverted personality when in front of the redhead; slowly she started to become more like herself whenever she would talk to him. Albeit this however, she still needed much help with other people.

A while later, Karma stood up sharply. His eyes were lit up and he grinned in such a way a child would once he would have something up his sleeve. Manami could only look surprised at the sudden motion; here they were talking about how they can maybe deal with delinquents outside of convenience stores and suddenly he did that.

After a few more seconds of surprise, he turned to face her with a smirk.

"I think I got a good idea."

* * *

"Combat Club?"

"Yep."

Classes were over and the pair walked under the orange lights the sun gave out before it would hide itself from the world again for 12 hours. It was rather late by the time they were both able to make their way home since Manami had to wait for Karma to 'finish things up' upon his request – not to mention they both wanted to get juice again which added up to the time they spent before actually heading home.

"So you're going to make your own club? What's it going to be about?" she eyed him with interest as she took a sip from the fruity drink she held with both of her hands.

"Mhm, things should be interesting if we made one ourselves. And it's in the name. So basically, it's a club I want to dedicate to our last year of middle school." Karma said and sipped his own juice as well.

Okuda frowned "But—"

"I know what you're gonna say." He broke in before she could tell him anything and he looked the opposite direction from her – it felt like he averted his gaze on purpose just for her not see his face. "It's just that high school's been way too unentertaining compared to my life with the yellow octopus." His tone was odd, for a second it didn't sound like himself. Usually, Karma was the type of person to be blithe about the majority of things, so you'd find him with a smile on even in dangerous situations. But this time, all his tone told her was how much heavy emotions he felt after his middle school years. It wasn't sadness; rather, it was the feeling of emptiness.

Once Manami noticed this, she just stared at him with half-lidded eyes brimming with sympathy.

_'I know…'_

She remembered the day of their graduation from Class E, and the time each one of them were in their run-down yet beloved classroom for one last time before the ceremony began.

And there she saw him. He was alone, sitting by the window with his chin rested on his palm as he looked outside the campus he'd have to say goodbye to; any contact with the other rejoiced students was avoided. His eyes looked distant – the look someone has when someone who played a big part of their life leaves even though you knew it was bound to happen. The view itself looked lonely.

It was the pure embodiment of a human's loss.

"…da-san. Oi, Okuda-san."

Karma's voice snapped her out of her thoughts which caused her to turn sharply to his direction. "W-what?"

"We're here." His regular tone was back, and the sun had already disappeared so now a starry night sky was above their heads.

"Ah! S-sorry for that…" she let out an exasperated sigh – whenever she's lost in her thoughts it gets hard for people to get her out of them. It couldn't be helped though; she almost never talks to anyone but herself.

"Don't mind it." He smiled and raised his hand in farewell

"Well, Bye now."

"Mm, see you tomorrow." She watched on as he continued his way down the lamp-lit road.

_'Combat Club…'_ somehow those words sounded interesting, so she looked forward to whatever Karma had in mind, and hoped for the best. And by best, she pertained to a low rate of damage and chaos for the following months.

She inwardly laughed as these thoughts piled up on her way up to her apartment. But all this was moved to the back of her mind the instant she opened the door and found her guardian rested on the couch and watched some boxing game as she sat there without a care in the world and munched on microwave-made popcorn. Her narrowed eyes looked quite peeved, and it didn't exactly look like she was enjoying the game; rather, it looked like she was imagining herself as the one in the ring and took her anger out there.

"Inari-nee, what are you doing? I thought you had a girl's night out?" Manami sweatdropped and gave her the look anyone would give when they expect something more out of them.

"I'm enjoying it." She replied and aggressively munched on her popcorn and watched as one of the boxers knocked the other one out cold. She had a white cardigan over a yellow blouse over dark skinny jeans. There were snacks all over the table and her socks and shoes were a scattered mess on the floor.

"But I thought you were downtown?"

Inari took the bottle of soda she drank from and slammed it on the table – a vein popped on her forehead as she uttered out her next words "I _was_. But Midori was already drunk and moping about the latest guy she just dumped." She crushed a few of her snacks when the memory of being treated like an object of rant and being hugged pathetically by the orange-head played.

"Mikagura-sensei must be having a pretty hard time…" Manami couldn't help but feel sorry for her caretaker's best friend; that was the 3rd one this year.

"Oh? You live with Inari-sensei?"

Manami squeaked and jumped from her spot by the door to face the _very_ familiar voice's origin. The older woman inside the room had her mouth agape, the popcorn in her hands dropped to the bowl between her thighs as her eyeballs shrunk within her narrow eyes.

"K-…Karma-kun…"

* * *

"Why did you come back?" Manami uttered out each word slowly – not to mention uncomfortably.

"I forgot I needed to tell you something. Guess I was lucky you were still standing out the door, otherwise I'd still have to look for you." Karma responded and leaned on back on his chair like it was nobody's business.

The three were seated down awkwardly on the small, square kitchen table. Since Manami was a respectful and thoughtful person, she had the courtesy to cook up something fast for them to eat while they would have a small talk (Karma insisted he would like to have dinner there). Karma sat on one side and Inari was directly seated in front of him, leaving the unfortunate science nerd between the tense air between them.

"What's wrong, sensei? You've been glaring daggers at me for a while now." He smiled wryly, obviously in an attempt to further anger the already irritated woman. Inari had her arms crossed and her glare only grew darker – there was practically a dark atmosphere looming over her.

"Is it perhaps because you were found out? Or is it because I caught you in one of your _moments_?" he pressed on, and Manami could tell the devil's horns and tail just grew out of him right now.

Inari smiled darkly and leaned on the table to look at him directly; veins popped on her forehead. "You're a funny guy, _aren't you_?"

"_Really?_ It's not surprising; I've been class clown for years." Karma, in turn, leaned on the table more to continue to taunt her. It felt like both their dark auras were clashing in a sinister frenzy.

"Oh? Good. So I'm sure my fist colliding with your face would give me one _hell of a laugh_" she stood up this time to look down on the shorter boy to feel superior as she took her fist and clenched it in front of her.

"Oh don't be so violent, sensei~" It was Karma's turn to stand up as he tried to level her and bring her down as well. "It's not nice to hit on guys out of your age group, right?"

Now this ticked her off for it seems as though smoke had come out of her ears upon hearing that "_Hah?_ Whoever said I needed a man in my life?"

"No one did, that's why you gave up and became the school nurse right?" his smirk grew darker and you could see the evil in his eyes when he spoke his next sentence. "All that womanly care has to go somewhere, _especially when they're reaching the __**point of no return**_"

Inari grit her teeth even harder this time, the smile had disappeared and she grabbed the boy by the collar – a fist was ready to to launch itself to his face. Not only did he insult her singlehood, but he also pointed out the fact that she was already 34, which means she was almost doomed to remain single.

"**_I'm going to kill you…_**" she sounded like a demon now. It felt like her eyes were on fire as her brow twitched from all the frustration she had 100% directed to him. But Karma was left unfazed by this threat and just pushed it to his limits.

"Oh no, Inari-sensei, I thought you were the school nurse?" It appears he had found another candidate for his 'best people to annoy' list – and right now she was on par with Terasaka (and winning).

In the duration of this glare battle, poor Manami had been ignored several times. Each instant they would bite back at each other she would fidget around and try to tell them to stop but the power of wickedness and foul play was much too strong for someone like her to handle.

"B-both of you get a hold of yourselves please…" she tried once more, but once she looked at them again, it felt like an exaggerated painting by some renaissance artist of Medusa and the Devil having a brawl as the two continued to glare menacingly. So she gave up and sighed, but she was able to notice something which surprised her.

_Why do I feel like these two are getting along really well?_ She looked at their murderous stares one more time, and couldn't help but smile.

* * *

It was around 8:45 when Karma decided to go home. Manami had taken the initiative to bring him downstairs and see him off. And as they walked, they shared a conversation before they decided to part ways.

"So, what did you come back to tell me?" she started, her hands behind her back as she walked side by side with him.

"Oh yeah, earlier before classes ended, I looked into some of the clubs that were on the brink of disbandment and one of them was the poetry club. Lucky for us, the members barely attend or meet-up so the room's vacant most of the time – I took advantage of that and asked permission for the room." He explained enthusiastically, another one of his grins on his face.

"And they approved it?" Manami was amazed he already did so much in just one afternoon – so he was able to get a free room, permission to use it and with permission comes along the next basic requirements of a club.

But she figured in order to do that, he had to sacrifice something; and she had a hunch it was his classes…

"Yep. Now all we need is a teacher as our supervisor, support from a member of the student council and finally at least 6 members." They made it down the escape's stairs after his last sentence and the chemist was already excited to see what comes next once his plan is successful. (She still has that damage rate in her worries though.)

"Alright, so tomorrow after school can you come to the poetry room to help out with the requirements?"

"Eh? Sure, I guess." Tomorrow was Saturday, but since clubs were introduced today, the afternoon tomorrow will be taken for the first years to enter their new clubs and for others to work on the needed necessities to keep their club functioning.

"Good. See you tomorrow." Before he could take even a few steps away he turned to her again with more to say.

"By the way"

"Hm?"

"Do you think you could make me a stink formula over the night?" she could tell he was up to no good with the way he worded it out, but since it was chemistry, she couldn't stop herself from submitting to his request.

"Thanks" he smiled brightly. Oh he can always count on his Okuda-san to kick his plans up a notch.

_Wait a minute…when did I agree to join?_

Okuda watched Karma vanish from her sight when he took his left turn.

_Oh well._

After their final farewells that night, Manami walked up the fir escape's stairs to get working on his request and was mildly surprised to find Inari leaned against the opened door to wait for her

"Your friend's a brat." She deadpanned as Manami made her way inside with a sheepish smile. "But he's a good kid." Inari continued.

"I thought you wanted to kill him?" she laughed lightly and proceeded to clean the table and prepare herself for another night of experimentation. Inari didn't answer and was just left with her thoughts as her co-resident cleaned things up.

True, he was a brat and she figured he had 0% respect for any adults, but upon seeing his eyes and and studying his personality, she could tell her really was a good kid behind the problematic behavior he showed her. But what surprised her most was when the thought of him being able to take care of a certain fragile little girl came up – and she actually conside—

"Inari – nee, there's a paper on the table. I think Karma-kun left it here." Speaking of fragile little girl, she was currently reading a paper that had an envelope stuck to it. _'When did he make this?'_

"What does it say?"

"…it's a bribe."

"Okay _**he still pisses me off!**__"_

* * *

_Karma's been gone for a while…_

The sound of a ticking clock filled the emptiness of an old wooden room that hasn't been used for a long time now. Its shelves were dusty and the floor could use some cleaning too. There was barely any paperwork stalked on top of the provided furniture despite this room supposedly being an art club. The room contained a bookshelf with a glass door stationed in the left most corner; next to it was an old cooking stove anyone would doubt could still be used for anything and a rusty sink. To the right, there was a whiteboard and a blackboard right behind it – there was also a stack of chairs to the corner and sets of drawers that were burdened with cobwebs. Finally, in the center of the room was a square, Japanese table, where the chemist awaited for the return of a mischievous ginger.

After Saturday classes, both of them came to this room as soon as they could and met up for a while. They made a few comments about the room's cleanliness but figured it's not as bad as Class E's supplies and dismissed it. Minutes later Karma went off saying he'll be 'back in a while'; but that while has been over 20 minutes from when he left.

"I wonder what he's up to…"

Speak of the devil and he arrives for Karma slid the door open not a second after she mumbled that out. "Sorry it took kinda long~" he said playfully and jogged over to the other side of the table to sit down laxly.

"It's okay, so where did you go?" Manami inquired and sat up straight to look at him properly. When she did though, he had a ghastly smirk on and his eyes looked like they were glowing red under the darkness of his bangs. From this, she could already tell he just played dirty again.

"What did you do—"

"Hey **_YOU!_**" and the sliding door slammed open to reveal a furious high school girl with long strawberry blond hair. Her blue eyes were clouded with infuriation towards the trickster in the room. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU PUT IN MY SHOE LOCKER YOU GODDAMN CLOWN?!" she yelled into the room as her arms flailed – the person she pertained to on the other hand had a his tongue stuck out and he looked to the side, clearly giving the message he wasn't sorry at all.

Okuda recognized her immediately. It was Nakamura Rio of Class B, also her former classmate, and she brought with her an…

_Odd smell…_

She stomped into the room after she forcefully closed the door behind her in a fit of anger. Manami wanted to be polite, but the smell she had on her was too strong to _not_ cover her nose.

Rio slammed her hands on the table "I SWEAR AKABANE IF THIS IS JUST ONE OF YOUR—" her yelling came to a pause when Karma shoved a paper onto her face.

"Before you destroy someone's eardrums, take a good look at this." He requested and let her take the paper.

"What's this?" she studied the paper with furrowed brows and mumbled some of the words it said.

"Application form for our club."

"Club?" she placed her hand with the paper on her hip and looked at him with a raised eyebrow "You want me to join this combat club of yours?"

"Oh, Rio has a brain~"

"Forget it then!" she gritted her teeth and was about to crumple the paper and throw it at his head when he quickly said "You haven't noticed yet?" in his sinister tone and Rio had a bad feeling form in her stomach.

"Noticed…what?" she felt a little anxious from that point. Because when Karma does things with that smirk of his, it's never something anyone can laugh about with him.

"My we have a _smelly_ situation under our noses now don't we?" he taunted – even as much as pinched his nose shut to prove his point. And that's when Rio's face fell

"You **son ****_of a—_**" she remembered that upon opening her shoe locker, a pink gas came out and covered her entire body, and the one who did such a thing left a note that said _'I'm in the poetry room if you want me :P'_. And ever since that weird gas came into the air, everyone she'd pass by would avoid her –and worst case scenario was when she caused a teacher to faint and another student gag on vomit.

"BASTARD! YOU'RE GONNA BLACKMAIL ME INTO JOINING, AREN'T YOU?!" she took Karma's collar and shook the male in a rage. If it's a Karma stench, mere bath soap and water would never be enough. Literally and figuratively – so she knew that she'd be doomed with this stink forever without his help; and his help is not free

"Let go of me, you reek." He had an irritated smile on now and was this close to stinging her with pepper spray (not that he had any at the moment, but it was tempting) and she let him go to repetitively slam her fists on the table "**WHO'S **FAULT IS THAT?!"

Karma sighed.

"Okuda-san, you made a perfume to counter it right?" he turned to her and grinned.

_'How did he…?'_

Karma knew that if Okuda was to create anything dangerous, she'd be thoughtful enough to make something to fix whatever lethal effect it had.

"A-Ah! M-Mm…" she nodded and searched for it inside her bag, still quite surprised how he knew about it. But there was another reason she was so fidgety – it was the uncertainty of how to act in front of an old friend after forgetting how to socialize. She was glad to finally see another member of class E, but when the time came, she was left wondering how in the world she should act after she spent months without them.

With hesitant hands, Manami lent the bottle of perfume to Karma and he gladly took it from her possession to swing it in front of Rio's face – he was taunting her, and he knew she'd get the message.

"You play dirty, Akabane." The blond glared darkly at the smug-looking teenage boy.

"You aren't used to it?"

"Agh! Fine. And here I wanted to try the painting club but whatever. I'll sign your stupid thing so get me out of this—"she attempted to grab the bottle from his hand, but with Karma's speed, he evaded it and kept the bottle far away from her.

"Hold up."

"What do you want now?!" she looked ready to punch him for real this time.

"Just a little favor before I give you this." He handed her a long folder with a naughty grin and leaned on the table, excited about his next plan. Knowing that if she wanted to smell good again she'll have to obey him, she grabbed the folder along with a 'hmph!'

Pleased, Karma turned to the silent, braided girl on the other knelt on the other side of the table "Look, we already have one member~"

* * *

Students were scattered all throughout the school campus; each freshmen took their time in deciding clubs and eventually got to know the other seniors within it. All was just peachy for most students – save for a certain orange haired girl.

Hayami Rinka was still undecided as she took slow steps outside the cafeteria, a sandwich in hand. As usual, she was silent with a serious expression as she kept to her thoughts. For now, her options were the archery club, the volleyball club, and the debate club. _'Alright, for now I guess I'll pay a visit to the archery…'_ she trailed off when a certain paper upon a bulletin board caught her attention. Her eyes grew wide with disbelief when she studied the paper once more.

**_Application form for Geisha Club_**

Hayami choked out a shocked gasp "G-Geisha…!? It kinda has a weird smell though…" she commented as she drew closer to the paper.

This was secretly a fetish of hers – she's told no one about this, not even Chiba. In situations like these, you could say 'everyone has their closet moments'.

"This can't be real; there hasn't been a high school I've heard of with a club like this…!" she had her suspicions, but the form looked real enough in her eyes – albeit the peculiar smell it had. Unconsciously, she took a pen out of her bag and her hand neared the signature area until she stopped herself. _'No, it could be a trap! But even if it wasn't what do I do when everyone finds out?'_ she backed away from the board and lowered her pen.

"T-The archery club sounds like a-a better deal, right? Yeah." She said to no one in particular and went away from the paper with a lot of hesitance.

Moments later she came running back, quickly signing the application before throwing the pen away, making sure the coast was clear before she signed. She looked at the paper one more time and walked away with a red tint on her cheeks.

A while later, a certain blond came to the board and lifted the so-called 'Geisha Club Application' to reveal the combat club's form underneath a carbon paper – Rinka's signature belligerently above the space. With a satisfied smile, Rio took the paper off.

* * *

Rinka was surprised to find Chiba in the classroom with a few others as she walked by – seeing he had a club application form in his hand, she was curious and approached him to inquire.

"Chiba." She started as she looked down on him sitting on his desk, having just finished signing up for something. He in turn, greeted her with a "Yo, Hayami." And fixed the paperwork on his desk.

"Combat club?" she raised her eyebrows after reading what he signed up for. "Why?"

"I just joined it because you joined, call it bandwagon-ing if you may."

"Huh? But I didn't join."

"Yes you did." He held up her application form with that aggressive looking signature she just did earlier "Rio came in with this just now."

…_Hah?_

* * *

Five students were gathered in the old poetry room with an uncomfortable silence. The only sounds that could be heard was the dusty wall clock placed on the high wall as it read 2:30 pm. Each of them were seated on particular sides of the table. Karma and Manami sat next to each other on the opposite of Rinka, while Ryuunosuke and Rio sat on the remaining sides.

Each had themselves occupied as they waited for the member of the student council that was to orient them about the making of their club and its requirements. Manami just shifted around awkwardly in the quietness of the room while Rio leaned on the table and yawned. Lucky for Karma and Ryuunosuke, they had books to distract themselves from the boredom, until moments later the redhead closed his and deadpanned

"Well, when are you gonna stop staring at me like that, Hayami-san?"

Rinka spent the past minutes glaring at him and sulking in the bitterness of being deceived by a cheap trick. There was a darkness loomed over her bloodthirsty eyes as she rested her chin on her palm with her elbow on the table.

The bespectacled girl sighed inwardly. She's been thinking about how on earth she'd try to talk to them after wishing to be with them since the day they were separated from one another. She's conscious whenever she would talk to people, yes, but it wasn't this kind of conscious. She was wondering why she couldn't even speak up to them even though she was able to do so the past year – heck, she even got along with them well and didn't have to think too much about her words. Why now…?

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by loud tapping on the other side of the sliding door.

"Oh, could they be here?" the blond wondered, but all members of the room were suspicious since the sound was coming from the bottom of the door and it was way too loud for knocking. Rio hesitated, but she took the initiative to stand up and open the door – only to regret it after…

_'Pwiiiiiiii!'_

Suddenly a brown creature flew into the room. They couldn't exactly identify what it was for it had ears and a tail similar to a bear, but it had the snout and hooves like a pig would have; the vertical lines it had on its face that served as its eyes.

All were caught by surprise at the animal's abrupt entrance as it landed on the table, which caused those who sat by it jump save for Manami, who could had a bewildered yet curious face '_Isn't this fellow from—'_

"_Omo-chan!"_ panted a girl that leaned on the side of the room's door until she pointed at the creature to scold it "You can't just barge into people's rooms like that without asking nicely and behaving properly!" she flailed her arms in an adorable manner as she tried to sound threatening but looked like she was having a hard time.

Okuda's eyes widened. It was the girl from that morning; the same pale brown hair, the same big green bow that fixed it behind her head – but this time she could actually get a few details. The tie on her uniform was blue, meaning she was a sophomore (Since red was for freshmen and green was for seniors). Now that she looked closely, this girl had bright, blue, droopy eyes.

'_Pwi!'_ answered the pig…bear…whatever as smoked seemed to have come from its nostrils.

"Omo-chan, I know you're on medication but you still have to be nice to people." The mysterious girl wagged her finger in front of it after having fully entered the room.

The scene itself was so weird even Karma couldn't hide his mild shock.

"You…You're the one from yesterday!" The chemistry-lover blurted out, clearly astonished to encounter her again, which caused everyone to think _'__**That's **__what you're surprised about?!'_

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot to introduce myself and got carried away." She took the brown furball in her arms and faced the flabbergasted group properly. Her droopy eyes were filled with kindness as she smiled genuinely "Hello, my name's Isura Mai, Vice President of the student council. I'm here to discuss with you all about your new club."

* * *

It was hard to believe someone like Isura Mai would be a part of the student council – moreover, she was the vice president! The girl looked clumsy as it was, and there was no doubt in their heads that she wasn't the type to read a situation carefully and act on impulse most of the time. Her appearance didn't make her look like a leader, but it did give an impression she was someone approachable.

All six of them were back to sitting by the Japanese-style table as the girl named Isura Mai started her discussion regarding the club's requirements. "Since combat club is something you just created, it's much more prone to disbandment compared to other stereotypical clubs. For example, if you don't complete the necessary materials and have a more sufficient club request in queue, it's likely your club would be permanently demolished. Also, if you do reach the school's needs, yet fail to show any signs of progress or activity by the end of each month, any teacher or student has the right to file a report against your club and have it off the school grounds without questions asked; any questions?" She explained it all in a polite and understandable way – it was a tone you'd look for in everyone's dream big sister.

"Uh none except…" Chiba raised his hand warily "What's that?" he pointed to the furry creature resting on the older girl's lap – the animal turned to him with a choleric stare at the mention of the word 'that'.

"Hm? Omo-chan? Omo-chan is Omo-chan." She said it in a matter of fact character – in fact she looked proud of her answer.

"That doesn't really explain anything but I'll just take it." The dark haired man decided to just let the topic go since he's pretty sure it'll get them nowhere.

"No more questions? Okay, now let's get down to the specifics." She smiled brightly and looked at each one of them. "Actually, things should be quite easy for you now. You've already gathered five members and the needed amount is six. I'm quite amazed at the progress you've made in day." She looked at Karma with praise and he just bowed his head – earning him sour looks from Rio and Rinka.

But what the vice president said got Manami thinking. _So that was his strategy…_

It astounded the bespectacled girl when she got a good grip of the plan he made. Using the entire afternoon yesterday to get a room, permission and a member of the student council to support them and then using pure wit, guile, and just plain dirty tricks to already get him the member count he needed within less than one and a half hour. So he already took care of the hardest parts to get the club going as soon as he wanted.

_'As always, Karma-kun's amazing_' the girl looked at the redhead who sat next to her with awe for a moment or two before listening to Isura-senpai again.

"Since you're already—"

_Knock Knock._

"Oh, who could that be?" Isura wondered eagerly and sharply turned to the door. The other members also faced the door since neither of them expected anyone else to come.

"Excuse me, we heard there was a new club being made. Is it too late to join?" the sliding door opened to reveal two students; a boy and a girl. The boy who asked them had spiky, short black hair and dark blue orbs while the girl with him carried dull brown hair and eyed them with cheerful, light purple eyes.

The sight of the two stunned all in the room except the jolly vice president.

"Sugino-kun!"

"Yuzuki-san!"

The two whose names were just mentioned smiled "Hey there." Said Fuwa as she and Sugino walked inside before getting bombarded with greetings and questions from their former classmates.

"I didn't know you guys attended this school!" exclaimed Rio, rather ecstatic. Sugino smiled sheepishly "Actually we just started attending a few days ago. It was a big shocker for me and Yuzuki-san to be transferred from different schools and meet up here."

"That's actually kind of incredible." Remarked Hayami from her seat, also quite happy to see more of Class E in their school.

"We were shocked too really. And also because we both just transferred, we were put in the same classroom, 1-F" Fuwa admitted, also smiling quite sheepishly.

As the girls continued to talk about the whole transferring incident, Sugino greeted his old friend "Yo, Karma. Long time."

The devilish boy stood up to be in level with him as they did a high five for old time's sake. "Right back at you. But I thought you were aiming for baseball?"

"I am, but since I'm sure you've heard I'm already part of a national team, I guess joining this club shouldn't hurt. And besides, it's nice to see the members being Class E!"

Manami's grin didn't fade the moment those two entered. It felt like a family gathering together again for some sort of reunion – basically she was joyful that more people from 'home' came back to her life. Despite this however, she couldn't say anything to the two when they arrived.

"Looks like you all get along really well." Isura observed as they had their small merry gathering.

"I can already tell this club's gonna be a heap of fun..." she muttered and couldn't help but beam at the scene before her.

Once things had settled down, Mai decided to start closing the orientation.

"Lucky for you all, you have more than enough members – and on the first day too. Not all clubs can do that so be proud of yourselves." She praised them and felt content when she spotted them exchanging smiles with one another.

"Last but not least, you'll need to clean this room up by yourselves and buy your own materials. Don't be alarmed for each club's been given a budget of 15,000 yen for every year. And since I am your assigned student council representative, all you have to do next is find a teacher as your supervisor and you're all set to go." She finished up with that joyful aura of hers.

Karma grinned "That last part's taken care of."

His sentence earned him some quizzical stares from the students inside the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, an orange-haired chemistry teacher quietly took notes on her desk only to be rudely interrupted when a dark red-haired woman hit her in the head with a DVD case. Before the former could get angry, the darker haired woman made her take a good look at the case, giving the ginger a mortified look and a really bad nosebleed which later drove the entire office into a panic.

"Mikagura-sensei, you're an otaku?!"

* * *

"You made Inari-nee buy her an Otome game?" the small chemist sipped on her new flavor of juice – this time she tried raspberry.

They were in the middle of their usual walk home with the sun setting beautifully on such an eventful day filled with good happenings.

"Not really, but I just requested her to buy something Mikagura-sensei can't refuse and tell her the condition was she'd have to supervise the club." He chuckled at the thought of the twisted chemistry teacher being so easy to bend with mere visual novels. _'That's an Otaku for you.'_ He thought. Karma was proud of fooling old women. Very Proud.

And they continued on peacefully, as the stars began to twinkle above their heads –each of them looking forward to their next school days as members of the combat club.

_Things are probably gonna get pretty rowdy from here on out..._

* * *

Under the orange-ish sky with a few taints of night blue, two snipers walked in quietude they always did.

Until of course, the taller, shaggy haired tried to start a conversation out of mere curiosity "So, you're into Geishas?"

"Don't make me shoot you."

* * *

**PAPARARA~ DONE! So, was it rushed?  
**

**okay I'm not entirely sure what to feel about for this chapter, but I hope I did it right and it suited well to your tastes ^_^**

**Btw, I know Sugino's a major character and everything but I'd just like to assure you all that whatever happens to Sugino by the end of the manga doesn't happen here. Since the manga or anime isn't done, I'll have to 'play with people's pasts' for story's sake 8"3**

**But if what happens to Sugino here does happen in the end of the manga or anime then  
**

**YAY!**

**Btw, if it doesn't hurt, I'd like to ask you guys which parts you guys liked most or found notable during the story/chapter. Just if you want~**

**No Preview this time because I decided I'll only make previews for every new arc to lessen spoilers ^_^**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**With love,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	4. Chapter 4

**HEY ALL YOU PEOPLE! HEY ALL YOU PEOPLE! HEY ALL YOU PEOPLE WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME-*cough hack***

**Hello! This took quite a while since this chapter's extra long (which I am not entirely proud of)**

**So here's the next chapter! YAY! By the way I'd like to warn you now that the last part of the story is rushed since my dad wants me to sleep NOW. And he's watching me...closely...**

**OKAY! I'LL GET TO THE REVIEW REPLIES!**

**eastfall: Hey! Thanks for leaving such a long review and telling me my flaws! :D This was a big help and the rest of my reply was sent through a PM ^_^**

**KyoRina97: HELLO! Thanks so much for the third review! I look forward to you being a constant reader! I'm so glad you like it and I'm very happy with your patience**

**I12Bfree: Thank you and YES THAT SHIP IS BEAUTY. And yeah I guess so, more or less ^_^  
**

**kawaiichoconeko: TTWTT THANKS! Yes, the karmanami revolution shall take everything over. Thanks for reviewing again! I hope you become a constant reader! And menma has found you~**

**Akabane - san: Hey~! Thanks for another review! Oh and I'm sorry but Kanzaki won't be in this story ;w; (BOO!) No no thank YOU for reviewing and giving me support!**

**natsuki DDS: LOL no Mikagura-sensei more into yao-*slapped* NOPE! Thanks for reviewing again and they most likely won't have code names uwu. Gomen**

**TheRoseShadow21: OMG! ANOTHER KARMANAMI WRITER FOR THIS STORY! *sobs* I'M SO HAPPY I MADE YOU  HAPPY! Thanks for leacing such a kind and motivating review, it really got me going into things for this one (though I'm not really proud of this next installment). Again thank you so so much! 8D P.S I love your stories**

**Mugipyon: I am yet to answer to your last message XD. Again, thank you, your review gave me an idea along with eastfall's and of course it helped a LOT with how I plan to portray the characters.**

**animeandmangafangirl: Karma and his parents but from Mugi's review I assume they're in good terms? And I'd like to ask if you know _what_ his parents are like? If you don't know then it's fine! ^_^ Thanks for the 3rd review. And I read your latest chapter (KIYOKOCUTIE +KARMANAMI = Love)**

**Oh well, let's not drag this out any longer. To the story!**

***Cockblocked by disclaimer: I don't own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu or its characters. Just the story, some OC's and yeah the place-ish)**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Clubs, More friends and the troubles that come with it (Part II) [End of arc]**

"_Things are gonna get pretty rowdy from now on…" or so I thought._

_Tick_

_Tock_

Seven students were gathered around a Japanese table as they minded their own business. The walls and furniture that used to be so dusty were much cleaner now, but the stove, the sink, and a few drawers and cabinets still needed some working on.

_Tick_

_Tock_

This room had in it a peculiar group of people. A bespectacled poison lover currently occupied herself with a notebook filled with scientific terms while the demonic prankster beside her had a book above his face in an attempt to get a few Z's. On the other side of the table rested an orange-haired and dark haired sniper – both of them busied themselves with their textbooks.

On the third side sat a manga-loving detective and a baseball obsessed boy; the former currently worked on a drawing of some intense shounen manga battle whilst the latter played with the ball of his most favored sport. And finally, on the last side was a dirty-minded trickster that worked on a tower of ball pens with a careful eye since it neared completion.

_Tick_

One of the snipers closed her book.

"Hey, Club Pres…" there was no sign of amusement or positive feelings with the tone she just made. Hayami Rinka didn't talk much or care about anything, but she did have her moments of self-expression. This was one of them.

'Club Pres.' Also known as Akabane Karma, responded with a muffled 'what?' beneath his book – Rinka had to keep her eye from twitching at his behavior. Adult-like as she was, she often finds annoyance in immature objects (Karma's the perfect example of immaturity)

"Now that you've managed to suck us into your little thing, don't you think it's time you did your job and enforced something like, maybe…**something to do?**" It was the first day of club activities, and Hayami was pretty sure they were the most unproductive students today.

Karma groaned and decided to ignore her question, which really did cause the girl's eye to twitch for real now. Without a second thought, she took one of the ball pens Nakamura had on her side and flung it towards the cheeky redhead. With a fast movement of his arm, Karma took the book off his head and used it as a shield, and to his amusement, the pen went straight through the piece of literature.

Hayami's move caught the attention of everyone within the room, so now all eyes were fixed on the pair. Karma smirked at the method the sniper chose to negotiate. "Something wrong, Hayami-san?" he didn't need to ask, he was well aware of what bugged her at the moment, but he did so just to further annoy her.

"We're not doing anything." She said straightforwardly, her tone now entirely serious. Seeing how the situation escalated already, Sugino tried to stop the ordeal before it could worsen "Hey, you two, cut it out." he sighed when he noticed his attempt was futile. The other members of the room thought it was best not to get in the way, since they all had a feeling they'd get ignored – but that didn't stop Manami from feeling a little worried.

"And that's bothering you?" he pressed, obviously amused to see the usually serious girl pretty ticked off at him. But he also had other plans.

Hayami's brows furrowed and she took another pen to throw, but this time it was from the base of Rio's pen tower which gave the blond quite a shock when her hard work fell apart at that moment. Karma moved quickly and used the cushion underneath him to deflect the next attack.

It wasn't long before Rinka stood on the table to swing another pen at him – which drove the people in the room to a small panic since not only were their businesses interrupted, but a brawl was about to take place.

The sniper kicked the book Karma had dropped off the floor and caught it in her hand to use it as a melee weapon and aimed to use it to hit the prankster's head. But since Karma saw this coming, he took the cushion once more and used it to protect her desired target.

"Why wouldn't it? I could be doing something better if I joined another club."

From this point, it was a (one-sided) battle of strength. Though Hayami tried her best to overpower the tall boy, it was impossible even with the support of being on high ground. She gritted her teeth at the struggle and Karma only gave her a smug look "Why didn't you?"

Rinka refused to answer and just doubled the power she was using to bring the redhead down – but this only made her opponent give a little more effort.

Manami wanted to speak at the time – to tell them to knock it off or stop before someone really gets hurt, but for some reason she just found herself stupidly watching the scene. Before anyone else can get the chance to halt the small fight, the room's door slid open to reveal the vice president in her constant ebullient manner.

"Hello! Just stopping by to…" everyone in the room paused and stared at the unexpected newcomer of the room. After seeing the odd situation she just walked in to, Mai's cheerful smile didn't falter as she slowly closed the door and exclaimed "I'll come again!" on the other side.

But before anyone was able to say or do anything, the council member came back; though this time she opened the door with more force than the first time, making the two gingers straighten up and drop their 'weapons' to face the older girl properly.

"Oh yeah! I came here to remind all of you of the 1st Years' medical check-up you have with Inari-sensei today; and also" her head turned to Karma's direction "I'll need to have a talk with Club Pres." She beamed and gestured for Karma to come outside – he responded with a dull "Alright.", predicting it was going to be another conversation on 'Presidential responsibilities'.

Once the two stepped outside, the gunman returned to her seat with a slightly irritated look and sighed – her chin rested on her palm to further express how she felt at the time.

Even though Rio was disappointed that her tower had been torn apart, she was more dissatisfied with how things were turning out to be. "She has a point, we aren't doing anything at all so why did we bother to come?" she folded her arms on the table and rested her head behind them as a sign of boredom. Hayami nodded to support her statement.

"But from what I heard, you two were 'forced' to join." Sugino looked at the two with inquisitiveness "You could've flat out rejected him, but to repeat what Karma said, why _did _you all agree to join anyway?" Even Manami was curious about this. Why indeed? If they felt so bitter about it, couldn't they have just left or not attend in the first place?

Both girls blinked after his words and got themselves thinking about it.

"Hm…I wonder why too" The orangehead trailed away and placed a weak fist on her chin in a thinking position.

"Uh-huh." The blond played with one of the pens that used to be part of her makeshift tower until her eyes were downcast and a sad smile made it up to her lips "But it's probably because…like him, we also feel a little empty after everything last year…" Rinka's eyes went downcast in turn as a sign of agreement, which resulted to Chiba giving her a look.

Everyone else in the room got what they were going with and presented their own mirthless smiles in bittersweet memory of their very extraordinary year in middle school. They had an understanding that they all came here for the same reason.

The chemistry lover blinked upon hearing the words escape the blond girl's mouth – even more so when she noticed everyone else' expressions at the memory of 3-E; the 3-E she thought everyone already moved on with, the 3-E she thought they all accepted not being part of anymore. But this sight somehow relieved her.

_So the one living in the past…wasn't just me…_

"Hey Okuda-san, you've been pretty silent the entire time, anything the matter?" the voice of Yuzuki Fuwa took Manami away from her thoughts which caused the small chemistry geek to jerk up a bit. After having regained her composure, she spotted most of the members staring to her direction and was caught off guard; therefore "Ah— U- uh…" was all she could stutter out.

_'What? Say it.'_ It felt as if her heart told her these words, but her mind and body disobeyed its every desire. And after she failed to even _try_ responding, she averted her gaze from them– eyes clouded with guilt and self-pity.

"Mm?" Nakamura mumbled in a volume no louder than a child's whisper – almost non-existent, but it was there, for only her to hear. Something had definitely been off with Okuda since the time they entered high school, because she knows for a fact that Okuda Manami was one of the most strong-hearted students in class E even with her introverted personality. But compared to that and what she was seeing now, she couldn't really stop herself from thinking about it…

Moments later, Karma was back inside with his hands in his pockets. However Sugino noticed something about his expression – it was the one he always had on whenever he found something interesting or just plain had a plan, so naturally he inquired whatever it was from him "What did you talk about outside?"

The boy looked at him with a face saying _'I'm glad you asked'_ and turned to the woman he had an earlier squabble with. "Hayami-san, just earlier you were complaining about not doing anything and wasting away our hours right?"

The girl responded with raised eyebrows "What of it?"

Karma only smirked

* * *

_"Sorry I have to give this to you informally." The troubled Isura handed Karma the envelope that contained their club's budget of 15,000 yen – which he respectfully took from her hands. "It's no problem, but you seem agitated, senpai. Is it okay to ask what happened?"_

_Mai hesitated, but keeping it classified wouldn't really make a difference to the problem at hand so she nodded. "There's some trouble going on with some third year students and a crew of delinquents at a nearby convenience store. From the witness reports, they're not the first ones to fall victim; those delinquents would often harass anyone in their 'territory' and they seem to find joy in doing so. The student council is supposed to deal with the matter right away once we've figured things out We'd like to avoid any reckless procedures after all." her way of speaking gave the impression that just the very thought of them was enough to make the vice president depressed._

_"Again, I'm really sorry for not being able to be with you for today." She bowed her upper body to him regretfully, but Karma gave her a smile of reassurance "It's okay senpai, you have more important things to deal with."_

_The brunette nodded once more and jogged away to the Council room – but instead of feeling sympathetic towards the sophomore, this just gave Karma a good idea._

"What the hell is that?" Nakamura commented distastefully.

All seven of them were gathered a safe distance away from the school's nearest convenience store and hid behind a few bushes and a tree as they watched a rather unpleasant scene. From their distance, they could see five large, bulky men in school uniforms not of Kimii assaulting two of their schoolmates by the left side of the small shop where the gachapon were – the shadow of the store loomed over the group in an alleyway-like fashion.

The scene was terrible. While four of them ganged up on their male victim – who looked to be calling out the name of the girl being attacked even in his battered state, the last one had his hands full with the other one pinned to the wall – it was clear to everyone's eyes that it was sexual harassment.

"They're all brawn and no brain. If this were our middle school, even Terasaka would be on a higher level than these goons combined." The blond sardonically added, her hand balled into a fist as it stationed itself on her waist.

Yuzuki, Sugino and Rio had scowls on their faces to express their disgust and indignation while the rest kept straight faces; but the 'rest' didn't include the currently distraught eyeglasses-ed girl, who twiddled her fingers about nervously. Not only did they sneak out of the school, but they also skipped out on the medical check-up scheduled for them today (though she's probably the only one that cares or remembers), she had a hunch she was going to be given one heck of a consequence when she gets home. But even if these were causing her to become anxious, she still felt the fire burning in her stomach from the anger she was trying to control.

_Right now…there are more important things._

"I can't take this anymore." Sugino rose from his spot behind the bushes and stepped forward as his fists shook with frustration – that was until Karma stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Sugino." And to his request, the sporty boy cut his advance short and looked at his friend questioningly.

"I think I'd like to play with them for a while before we bring about their execution" and that's when a twisted smile crept up to his face.

* * *

"Come on, miss! It shouldn't be so hard to stop struggling; we just wanna have a little fun." Said the tallest one of the five as his hands kept the girl beneath him from moving despite the fact she tried her best to thrash the scum away.

"M- Mikuru…" called out the bruised boy who was being held down by the feet of the other four misfits. They had purposely made their victim watch the scene before him to please their sadistic tastes. "Come on, Takeo!" encouraged one of them as the rest cheered on. The girl who obviously had no chance of getting out of the situation like this and found herself crying out the name of the other student that looked to be her boyfriend "S-Souta…" but after this reached the ears of the ones assaulting them, they broke into fits of laughter.

"Did you guys hear that?!"

"It sounded so totally helpless!"

"That's a lover's Romeo and Juliet scene for you!"

The girl named Mikuru now had tears formed at the side of her eyes as she braced herself for whatever hideous plan they had in mind as their wicked laughter filled her ears – she was pretty sure nightmares would come her away after this.

_Slurp_

But that was until the wretched sound stopped.

Mikuru opened her eyes slowly and was presented with her captivator's eyes fixated to the side. After she turned her head carefully to see what they were all looking at, she was quite surprised to see a blond haired girl with their exact same uniform (save for the red tie) sipping on a juice box casually as she looked to their direction after passing by. This was unexpected for the gang of good-for-nothings because first of all, she's not doing anything to stop them; second of all, she was 'trespassing'.

The tall one named Takeo thought then that she could probably be a new one to mess with as he shoved the girl he pinned down to the soil – which started a few sniggers from the other ones. As the delinquent leader closed in, Nakamura didn't budge and just acted like he was no threat to her whatsoever (and he really wasn't. Not one bit.)

"Hey blondie, you're in our territory." He had an idiotic grin on and his eyes were enthusiastic which made him look even more brainless than his get-up. When he finally got up to her, she looked up at him – and yes he was about 15 inches taller than her "Oh? And?" she sipped on her almost empty juice and stared at him lazily, which of course already made him lose his temper.

"You just chose the wrong day to be a bitch dear sweetie." He cracked his knuckles and grinned deviously at the girl he towered over. _'How generic.'_ The light haired girl smirked inwardly.

"Oh. Scary." Her expression of boredom didn't falter and she just continued on with her drink – baiting him with a smile that just said _'Whachu got?' _After a twitch of his eye, he leaned forward in an attempt to grab her. For a millisecond, Rio caught herself smirking before she ducked under the man's attempt to attack and swiftly pulled her straw out to shove in his nose _deeply_ before she turned around sharply to trip over the man with her leg and keep him down with a dropkick to the center of his back, giving her a few choked sounds from the man.

This fast move alarmed Takeo's 'minions' for they gave her furious faces and animal-like growls. "Bitch!"

They stomped one last kick at their other prey to keep him down before they charged at her recklessly. Once the students were distracted by the golden haired girl, Manami and Fuwa hastily came to the other victim's aid and took them away from the scene to explain things later as well as treat the boy.

Seconds away from the group getting to her, Rio smirked once more when she saw how they suddenly felt pain on their back sides and necks.

"Ah!"

"Shit!"

"What the hell?!" one of the misfits reached for the side of his neck where pain had landed and was left dumbstruck when he found out it was a spitball. _'This tiny thing is what hurt so bad?!'_

At a long distance from behind the scene stood Hayami and Chiba with straws in their hands and crumpled paper scattered on the ground. They hid themselves stealthily behind the garden bushes that surrounded the convenience store with their stoic as ever faces on. They hit each one of them with such precision you'd usually find only in men of the armada who had gone through vigorous training.

The moment the four of them turned around to have a look at what on earth shot at them with spitballs only to be greeted by the sight of a spiky haired boy with two bottles in his hand. Not wasting a second, Sugino uncapped the bottles with his thumbs and flung its insides to his target in such a way similar to that of a baseball pitch. This caused them all to wail in pain for those bottles contained boiling hot coffee – especially when the drink was aimed at their eyes

Before they could fully react to the situation, Karma was standing behind them with a look of wicked contentment as he kicked down the gachapon for its ball-toys to roll to the ground and trip them over. His smile grew when he heard some bones crack upon impact with the cold ground.

And finally, with a redhead and blond's combined effort, the first victim was picked up and tossed ruthlessly to where the rest of them lay in confusion. And with a loud '_Crash!'_ coming from the ball toys and the heavy delinquent, they all groaned in pain

In the duration of this entire ordeal, the unfortunate gangsters could do nothing but yell in agony and choke up at the shock and speed of everything that just unfolded before their eyes. They were absolutely hopeless for they couldn't even land a single move on anyone. They were 100% _nowhere near _a challenge to their assaulters however.

"What on earth?!"

"Who are they…no **_what_**are they?!" and as they regained enough of their composure to see what was right in front of them, they couldn't have regretted it even more.

What they saw was like those scenes you would see in a movie. From their perspective, it looked like a band of the worst crooks in town – they stood against an all-white background so only their silhouettes showed, but what was more nerve-wracking was the fact that it seemed like their eyes were glowing with a white light that could scare any child away

"T-T-Takeo, get off!"

They were sure that each of their skins grew cold after such a sight because after their eyes looked on in horror, they shoved their leader off of them and just ran off with panic and fear that's sure to haunt them in their slumber tonight– especially after they spotted a murderous glare and wicked smile under the shadow of a boy's red hair.

This sight left the assassins looking pleased with their work. _'Good riddance'_ was written in everyone's faces after the job well done.

"Aw, that was actually kinda boring." Nakamura commented and didn't fail to display her dissatisfaction with a yawn.

"I'm surprised they were smart enough to not try and put up a fight." Yuzuki stuck a tongue out playfully, earning her a nod of approval from Chiba, who seemed to have thought the same thing – this caught Hayami's eye though.

"Ah—! Ow…" the sound of a weak schoolboy's voice came from the back of the store along with some cries of another "Souta!"

The group walked over to the origin of the voices and found Manami treating the boy who flinched in pain under her caring hands. "U-Uhm, p-please refrain from moving too much." She had in her hands a set of bandages, medical tape and alcohol she undoubtedly bought from the convenience store as she carefully treated her senior's wounds.

"Is he going to be alright?" Mikuru asked with a concerned voice and Manami nodded "Y-yes, without a doubt." She assured the girl and stepped back from her patient once she had finished bandaging his wounds. The boy named Souta gave his girlfriend a weak smile "I'm alright, Mikuru."

"Souta!" the girl flung herself towards him and sobbed on his shoulder, Souta, in turn, rubbed her back and soother her with "There, there." And mouthed them a 'thank you'.

Okay, they were being way too mushy for comfort at the moment, which resulted to a few awkward coughs from the club members. Karma can kind of see why they were messed with, they really were a little too Romeo and Juliet-like.

Okuda, in contrast to the other's reactions, only smiled – she was delighted to help those who had no power. It kind of reminded her of herself back in the days of middle school (and right now really, but it was worse back then.).

"Wow, Okuda, you sure can handle people's health very well." Sugino praised her all of a sudden which caused her to create a small squeak as she went into a tiny panic attack "A-Ah— Uh…erm…" that was all that came out – which left the baseball player with something to wonder about.

It was only _this_ time the store attendant chose to come out after noticing the gachapon balls all over the floor like no one cared and a lot of other messes in the area with his mouth agape in disbelief. This state of shock transformed into a furious one when he spotted the students he assumed did it from the corner of his eye.

_That's just __**great.**_

* * *

"Amazing! You really did superb! You really really did help us out so much back there!" the brunette whose hair was styled with a green bow proudly exclaimed into the poetry room. The sun was orange in color by this time and was on its journey to the other side of the world, presenting a beautiful mix of orange, purple and blue above the townspeople's heads.

Though Mai had praised Combat Club for its efforts, the members didn't pay too much mind to it and were just lazily scattered throughout the room – as if they simultaneously got a massive head ache after the previous events. You can't blame them, they've been yelled at from the store itself and yelled at one more time by their supervisor for sneaking out of class and skipping out on medical examination.

Isura Mai noticed this and sweatdropped "You all seem quite irked about it…"

Rio had her arms spread out vertically by the side of her chin which rested on the table "Hah, not really. It's just that…**why did we get reprimanded for store vandalism when they did nothing about the mess before we even came?**"

As if on the store's behalf Mai bowed several times while saying "Sorry! Sorry!"

Sugino groaned softly from his seat, his hands entangled above his head "We may have done something to help those two out, but it cost us the budget we just earned today." He sighed when he remembered how they had to buy hot drinks, spitballs, juice boxes and medical materials – what's worse, they were found out only after the group of good-for-nothings fled from the area, so naturally the branch had them pay for the damages, especially the gachapon Karma broke with a single kick. Everyone else just sighed in exhaustion to express their agreement with him.

Throughout the time Karma had been silent and decided to shrug off what happened back there, but that didn't mean he wasn't also disappointed about losing money _and_ being blamed for what happened. It reminded him too much about what happened with his old homeroom teacher, so silence would probably do him some good for the meantime.

"By the way senpai, do you know what happened with the two students from this afternoon?" Fuwa tilted her head from her indian sitting position next to the table.

"Oh! Now that you mentioned it, right now the school nurse is tending to them, and there's a chance they might even be sent to the hospital; they fear not being able to tell you what they wanted to say so here's a message from both of them." She cleared her throat and worded out her next sentences clearly and with a tone that matched how her seniors Souta and Mikuru put it. "We're extremely thankful for what you did today, and surely we'll never forget it. There's no way we can ever repay you for that, so for now…"she paused and grabbed a plastic bag from her school pack and gently placed it on their table for them to check it out. "They're the previous owners of the poetry club, but since it's no longer in business, they decided they'd let your club have some appliances that they didn't to make it more hospitable for you. What's in that bag are some snacks, pocket cleaning materials and with much kindness from them, a receipt you can use to claim a mini refrigerator at that same convenience store"

The member's eyes lit up at the council member's words. They may have lost a number of cash for a day _and_ got told off a number of times, but at least it's paid off on the same day which was _very_ fortunate on their end – even Ryuunosuke and Rinka couldn't stop themselves from looking a little pleased.

"Oh!" Before anyone could give a remark, their vice president suddenly spoke up with her index finger raised in a way that stated she had an idea – which caught everyone's attention as their gaze shifted to the adorable senior. "What you did earlier could be your official club activity! Like when situations such as bullying arise, you can either take requests or just jump into action when needed!" there was no trace of a joke in the girl's voice, but apparently this made Karma, Rio, Fuwa and Sugino (though his was sheepish) laugh – even the two snipers couldn't hide how ridiculous it sounded to them for their lips rose up in an amused smile while their shoulders shook in an attempt to hold it in. Okuda, in contrast with everyone else, actually considered it first before reacting at all. She appeared to be the only one that gave it even a second of thought immediately however.

"No, really! We often see a lot of cases of physical harassment nearby and it even affects Kimii's student body!" Mai continued, confident that they should push through with this idea of hers.

"We're not heroes!" Nakamura managed to say before laughing on the table again.

"We're just…or we used to be students that were on the same boat, that's all." Sugino's laughter died once he began to reminisce.

"It's the one thing we just can't stand." Hayami decided to add to further prove what everyone else wanted to say – but of course she also felt the same way. They all had the same thoughts. They're not heroes or allies of justice, back in that store, they were just students that decided to pick a fight with a crew doing no good, but not for a reason like 'it's the right thing to do.' Or whatever it was the stereotypical heroes would call it.

"That may be so, but…in a weird way it kind of suits you." She gave them a warm and sincere smile with tender eyes "…heroes."

After that, she was greeted with silence. It seemed that her words had gotten the others thinking. Well, they did, if you may call it, 'save the world' one way or another, but should it really be something you can call heroic? That was the last thing the assassination classroom had to be, right?

After more moments of silence, Mai cheerfully exited the room saying she had a meeting to attend to and gently closed the door. As she walked, a thought came to her, and she smiled yet again

_'They didn't say no.'_

Back in the clubroom, silence was broken by another fit of laughter coming from the blond – but this time it was quite weak. "Hah, heroes she says, pft."

"Our methods aren't even the least bit noble." Fuwa said with a chuckle – she knew too well what a hero was to the public's eye due to her constant obsession over manga, and they didn't fit the bill.

"If anything, we sound more like a revenge club." Hayami stated, which earned her a 'Right?' from her blond companion and a nod from the Otaku.

It was quiet again afterwards, and that's when Manami saw it. Written all over the other member's faces was the flattery of being called such a thing. To her, it looked like they savored the idea, with faces that said _'Could it work out? Maybe? We don't know if we don't try, right?'_ You can't blame them, after intense discrimination in middle school, to be called that was something you naturally can feel good about – even if your methods weren't exactly ideal.

The redhead noticed this from his members/old friends and smiled. He turned to the window

_'Heroes…huh? What a childish dream'_

But he didn't say it was a bad one.

* * *

"Sorry Karma-kun, but Inari-nee wants me to go home early. Is that okay?"

"Alright, I have to talk to Mikagura-sensei anyway so I'll be going home a little later."

Club was dismissed and the others went ahead to their homes. Karma and Manami exchanged farewells outside of the room against the orange light of the setting sun.

"Mm, see you tomorrow." And with a wave of goodbye, Karma watched her disappear into the halls and exit the building. The old woman must've been pretty ticked off when her co-resident didn't show up, so that must be the reason why.

Karma sighed and prepared to make his way to whatever the twisted chemistry teacher wanted to talk about, but was abruptly stopped when he ran into Sugino not a minute later.

"Oh, Karma." He said mirroring the prankster's expression of mild surprise.

"Ah, Sugino. I thought you've gone home?"

"I was going to but I forgot to ask something from my new homeroom teacher." Sugino rubbed the back of his head in a 'what a drag' type of way.

"I see, well then I'll be out of your way." Karma folded his arms behind his head and started walking again.

"Wait, Karma!" Sugino called which led Karma to pause in his steps and turn his head to his way – his eyes inquired what he wanted to talk about.

"Today…no, ever since I encountered Okuda yesterday she's been a little…off." He began, and Karma stayed put and obliged him to go on judging by his silence "I mean, from what I know, Okuda-san was never as introverted as that. Last year, I saw a lot of improvements with her language skills, and she was also courageous even against students of class A. Anything happen?" he looked concerned from what Karma observed and he sighed, putting his arms to the side. Why wouldn't they notice? She was way too obvious.

"It was shock."

"Shock?"

"Earlier this year, she got into a messy situation. And let's just say it made her revert to, well…that." He shrugged as Sugino understood with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Must've been pretty bad if something like that turned out to be the result." At this, the image of a happy Okuda-san invaded Karma's thoughts. It was her middle school self calling him _'Karma-kun!'_ with a smile on her face, then next came the Okuda-san her encountered at the beginning of the year – the one with the empty words that had no meaning and the pale, almost lifeless complexion; the one that had her eyes downcast 24/7

_'Akabane-san…'_

"…Yeah."

* * *

The moon was formed into a crescent that night – oh wait, it was always like that.

The poison lover seated herself outside of her apartment and admired the night sky. The sound of crickets echoed through the nearly empty city as work hours came to a close. The barks of dogs on alert would reach her ears at times, but to the four-eyed chemistry geek, everything seemed to be at a quiet standstill of emptiness as she kept to her thoughts.

A yawn broke out to her left which was accompanied by the sound footsteps coming closer against the metal fire escape.

"Welcome home, Inari-nee." She welcomed her guardian politely after she came from her job downtown. The woman with the maroon crown yawned again and ruffled the girl's unbraided hair with an "I'm home. _Finally_"

"Your dinner's in the microwave oven." She reminded as the older woman opened the door to apartment 560 and shoved her bags inside. Usually Manami would sigh and say 'I'll clean that up later', but right now she was too busy attending to whatever it was that swam through her mind.

Once Inari got what was going on, she lightly tapped the kid's head with the envelope holding the bill for their rent. "Alright, talk."

The small-framed girl turned to her caretaker for a while before she shifted it back to the night sky.

"Our club had their first meeting today…" Inari knew that much – yep, they're the ones that didn't show up during the examination; she's yet to think of the most appropriate consequence for her.

"A lot of things happened today…they were really fun but… I can't shake the feeling of being dissatisfied…" Manami's eyelids lowered, at the same time, her lips formed into a thin line. Inari knew that this was a serious matter to the younger girl, so she chose not to respond to that and kept her ears open.

"I couldn't be happier about the fact I got to see people from my old classroom again, and moreover, we're in the same club but…every time they speak to me and vice versa, I end up not knowing what to do. I want to be with them and be able to talk to them normally again, but I feel really horrible about how I wasn't able to be entirely useful today. I don't want them to think I don't care, if anything, they're the most important people to me but…I think I forgot how to act around them…" she stifled out a half-hearted chortle after she had tucked her head beneath her arms that wrapped around her knees.

The older woman groaned. She can clearly remember how much happier the smaller girl had been during middle school – most especially her last year. She'd come home more energetic than she originally was and talk about some of the friends she made and how each of them was great in their own way; and almost half the time she would talk about her teacher. Inari's never seen him or met him before which was its own mystery, but she can assume he was the special type. At last, the woman spoke.

"Don't worry, for someone like you, it should be normal"

"That doesn't help..." the raven haired girl groaned, not lifting her head from where it was hiding.

She ruffles her head one more time "Dummy, it's because they're important to you, you want to really show them how you feel, and hope they get it right. Getting over-conscious about it won't do anything, especially solve your problems."

Manami's head showed itself. This has happened way too many times before; she couldn't voice out what she wanted to say because she was too afraid and overthought about every little detail too much. Korosensei must be frowning upon her right now (can he frown?), she had forgotten the words he told her to take to heart. In his words, 'you can't tell anyone anything without making an effort'

Inari continued after her silence "They can't reach out to you like that brat did, so you should try doing the opposite." She gave the younger girl a knowing smile and patted her head.

At this, the teen blinked. The only reason she'd been able to talk so well with Karma lately is because he made an effort to bring her out of her cage. Heck, he spent his days just following her around no matter how many times she tried to push him away. She grinned at the idea that she'd been spoiled by the sadist too much.

After she took a deep breath, Manami got to her feet and raised her fists to her chest. "Alright, I'm gonna do my best." She said quietly, but the fire Inari saw burning in her eyes was not a gentle fire that could be blown away just by anything. This was her determination, and the woman knew far too well that if the young girl wanted to do something for others with that face on, she'll do her best and fight on with a strong heart. She was actually a little proud of herself for being able to bring that face of hers out.

Okuda knew exactly what she wanted to do and how she wanted it to play out. But something tugged in her stomach – as if it told her 'not so fast'. There was one more thing – she didn't need to do it…

She just wanted to.

* * *

Okuda held the telephone with both hands tightly and awaited the other one on the line to pick it up so she could relay what she wished to. There was a folder on top of the desk where the home phone was stationed which was labeled 'Class Directories'.

The phone continued to ring for a while now, and though it had been less than a minute since she called, she couldn't stop the feeling of the tiny impatience which grew in the pit of her stomach.

At last, a voice came from the other line. "Hello?"

"Karma-kun!"

"Wha— Okuda-san how'd you get my num—"

"I want to tell you something!"

"Whoa, hang on—"

"I— Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best." Then there was silence from his side, which she took as a sign for her to go on. "I wasn't able to be useful today because I was too afraid to act…so tomorrow, I will surely do my best." The last five words were emphasized, but she still was kind enough to put it at a volume that wouldn't hurt the redhead's ears.

On the other end of the line, Karma's eyes were slightly widened as he listened to her – this was so for two reasons. Number one, how'd she get his number? But later on he assumed it was because the old hag had the directory of everyone in the school; and number two, she called _just_ to tell him that? Who does that? But he wasn't able to stop the small smile that tugged on his lips. _'Hah, you're really something aren't you?'_

"Well then, I'll look forward to it." he chimed through the phone, which earned him a beam from the chem freak on her side.

Inari looked on from her position leaned by the wall as she observed the conversation going on between the two – a small smile of contentment hovered on her features.

After a few more moments of conversation exchange, Manami gently put the phone down with a smile that didn't waver that night.

* * *

_They're all here now and everything but…_

Combat Club was complete again that day, and instead of lazing around like they did last time, they engaged into conversations and talked about things in each other's class – much different from the beginning of club hours yesterday.

After they received requests from Mai again today, some excitement piled up within the room as some of the things they'd talk about would circle around how they could be able to deal with the school's problem involving the bums in the school that would stir up trouble.

Outside of the rather active room stood a science-loving glasses-ed girl that looked through the window of the poetry club's former room. Said girl currently couldn't control the slow yet strong beats her heart gave out due to nervousness. Her breath was steady and the often would take deep breaths to try and lessen the col temperature she felt on her hands – they were shaking like a Chihuahua along with her knees.

_I can't move…_

The grip on her bag tightened around its strap. She looked inside the room again to find Karma lazily leaned against the sink as he would listen to everyone's mundane chitchat. _'I can ask Karma to say it for me…'_ she shook her head vigorously the very second that thought came up.

_No, I have to do this myself; otherwise…I would have called and done all of this for nothing._

With a sudden surge of courage, she opened the door way too hard – which inevitably led to everyone's antics interrupted as their attention went straight to her.

All Manami did after that was stand with her hand on the edge of the door as her knees shook even more no matter how hard she tried to control them. Her mouth spread into a wide line while her eyes were wide open underneath her spectacles.

_Now what?_ She gulped and felt the sweat beginning to bead down the side of her head. Unintentionally, her eyes moved to where Karma's were but once she did, she quickly averted.

_No! I can't look at him. He's not supposed to help me. I have to…I have to…_

"Uhm!" well, it was a start. From that one word, she was able to drop her hand which gripped the door and took a small step forward.

Another silence, no one gave her any form of greeting as they listened to her, nor did they give any 'what's up, Okuda-san?' or 'Yes? Okuda-san?' She was all alone on this – she knew that from the start and was prepared, but now that it's right in front of her…

Then from the corner of her eye, she spotted Karma's lips move for he was about to say something, but she immediately stopped him before he could say anything. "I-I'm Okuda Manami! A-And I'm here to say something to all of you!"

_No! You can't help me! Don't help me! I…have to go over this…_

_By myself!_

From this point, she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders.

_First calm down…_

_And tell them what you want to tell them. Just be completely honest Manami…_

_Just be honest._

After one last breath, she faced them all with the same determination she did with the stars last night.

"F-…For the past days, all I've ever done was fidget around all of you and become over conscious about what I say. And every time that happens, I end up not being able to talk to any of you. For that…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the times I ignored you or didn't reply to your conversations with me, and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't care about you." She took another step into the room. "But the truth is, I really really do want to be with you! You all were the greatest classmates I've ever had! Even if I didn't talk much or felt a little nervous around you, that doesn't mean I wanted to avoid you! It's just that…it's because I feel this way, I really can't find the right words to use when I talk to you…sometimes I feel like I can never be able to show how much I you mean to me because I'm like this so I…" in the midst of her hand scavenging for the materials she worked on the entire night inside her bag, she'd been put to a stop by Sugino's voice.

"It's okay now, Okuda-san."

"Eh?" This was something she didn't expect, so naturally she'd be quite confused and a little bit scared to know what he meant by that. When she looked at them, in contrast to what her paranoia made her think, they smiled.

The spiky haired boy continued in his polite manner "We understand what it is, come sit with us."

"B-But I…" Manami was tongue-tied for what felt like several moments until Fuwa stood from her seat by the table to gently push the four-eyed girl to where they were. "Come on~"

Once they were seated, the only thing Okuda could do was face them with a rather taken aback expression as she only began to register what was going on.

"So, how do you feel?" Sugino inquired – his beam towards her never faltering.

"Kind of…light…" she blurted out her immediate thought after she placed a hand on her chest.

"That's because you finally got out of your box, right?"

"…box?"

"Yep." That's when Nakamura joined in – which earned her a small sound of surprise from the shorter girl "For days we've noticed you've been agitated and way too scared of everything; but unlike what you said, None of us ever thought you didn't care. Don't say sorry too much, because there's nothing you have to be sorry for." Her hand was lazily pressed to her cheek as her elbow was on the table, but she meant every single word in that sentence.

The chemistry lover kept her gaze on the blond. _'Nakamura-san…'_

"Thank you—"

"Don't say 'thank you' too. We didn't actually do anything to deserve that word, after all, the one that got you out of your own troubles was you, am I wrong?" she stated it in a matter-of-fact tone – like it should be obvious, but of course she strongly felt that way.

At that moment, the petite girl felt like those words set something free inside of her. What she said was true, the one who made a move this time was her; right now they only praised her efforts. If she hadn't gathered the courage to tell them how she felt, the succeeding days would have been just as empty as her first month of high school – no, it would be worse than empty: pure nothingness. No progress, no tomorrow, no change. She knew this much, but what she found astonishing about this was the fact that it was the light-haired girl that assured her – and she least expected it for they aren't exactly what you would consider as 'close'.

Nakamura Rio was never a person Manami deemed to be someone she's completely comfortable with, but after what the girl said to her just now, she was beginning to have second thoughts. It felt the same as back then with Karma – whom she originally thought to be scary but really was just a person trying to help others in his own way.

She then realized she was left staring at them and blinked herself out of her trance "I-I have gifts!"

It was Rio's turn to be quite taken aback "Like I said, you really don't have to."

Manami couldn't help but feel a little crushed after that – it's the first time she's ever given a gift with feelings so she's not entirely familiar with how you act in these kinds of situations. "But…"

Fuwa gave an attempt to help Nakamura convince the introvert that things were okay "It's fine now, so—"

"I want to give them!" Okuda absentmindedly yelled, but didn't regret it for it had everyone listen to her – though of course the rest were rather surprised by the abrupt upsurge of her voice; heck, even Karma was caught widening his eyes by the girl's action. But seeing this from her always gave him quite a show so he smiled, amused.

Rio apparently had the same thoughts as Karma and smirked at how the usually quiet Okuda-san finally managed to be courageous enough to speak her mind. Oh what joy she would have whenever the small girl would show her strong-hearted side.

Once the braided girl understood that they allowed her to do whatever it is she desired to do, she placed her hand back inside her bag and brought out a variety of things. First it was a plastic container in which the contents were homemade muffins, followed by a bottle of some orange-ish liquid and lastly, a set of notebooks she neatly set atop the table.

Okuda started with the bottle "Th-This one's for Sugino-kun." She paused and glanced at the mentioned teen for a reaction and was pleased to see his eyes lit up. "I remember how you always look tired during your baseball games but still push yourself to keep going, so I tried experimenting with some formulas last night to make a proper energy drink that can boost up energy like a steroid should and still quench your thirst with a little orange juice like taste." She looked at Sugino and found him staring at the bottle in awe, and that's when she suddenly remembered "I-It's not poisonous, don't worry!" they used to be uneasy around her whenever she would make something back in middle school because of her capabilities as a chemist.

"Th-then there's—I mean…" she arranged the notebooks one by one to show its labels to those in the room. "I spent the rest of the night making notes for each of your hardest subjects. For Fuwa-san, I made a math tutorial since I knew you had a hard time with it last year. I tried my best to make it as understandable as possible." Manami didn't see it, but Fuwa was amazed and at the same time speechless, no one has ever done this much for her except when she had counseling with korosensei – but he was a teacher which was understandable. "The same goes for Chiba-san since I heard you weren't good with biology." She kindly handed him the blue notebook, and though she couldn't see what his eyes tried to say, she assumed he was also a little taken aback just like Sugino was. "Then…Ha-Hayami-san." She started to get a little nervous when she made eye contact with the orange-head but tried her best to keep her composure and not offend the girl when she gave her the notebook "Hayami-san, I made you a notebook for Physics. I…I don't know a lot about you, but I noticed how you tried really hard to understand this subject, s-so I wanted to help you since I find this subject easy." Rinka didn't say anything, but her eyes were wide with the same thoughts Yuzuki had.

"Lastly, Nakamura-san…" she searched for something in her bag again and brought out a plastic bag from the nearest bookstore and laid out its contents on the blond's side of the table "I bought an English novel that I think would suit you…" Rio only stared at it for moments until Manami continued "A-And if you have trouble with reading some of the words, I also bought a Japanese-English dictionary." Once she had finished the distribution of her gifts, she sat back on her cushion properly and took a good look at those gathered around the table – each had their own faces of disbelief.

"I made all of these for you, just to try and relay my feelings. Right now, this is all I can do and…" she gulped and faced them with resolve "I look forward to spending each and every day with you until our next graduation comes."

Once again, the room was enveloped in silence, but the science-lover kept a straight face.

_Did they…reach you?_

The silence was broken when Yuzuki sniffled all of a sudden. Once everyone's attention turned to her, she was already a mess. There were tears falling through everywhere – even her nose was beginning to drip with her snot as her mouth was formed into a small, upside down crescent.

"Fuwa-san, are you that happy?" Sugino sweatdropped as the girl sniffled a few more times "Well yeah that and…" she wiped her face with her sleeve but it ended up being useless when she showed her tear-stained face again "But what happened just now felt like a scene from a slice-of-life manga…"

Upon hearing this, everyone else gave her their own sweatdrops and awkward smiles

Manami laughed nervously by the otaku only to be glomped a second later by the said girl. "Uwoah!" the bespectacled girl yelped from the impact of the larger girl's body colliding with hers. Afterwards an unsure "Uhh…" was all that escaped the girl's lips as Yuzuki sobbed loudly (and if one had to admit, comically) by her arm.

And though this was rather amusing to watch, the others felt the same level of happiness Fuwa brimmed with right now. Each of them took a look at their new books and felt so much love and gratitude for it – it wasn't something any normal friend would do; heck, they're not even that close to the girl and she made an effort to do this much for them as well as make snacks for all the club members. In fact, this had to be the hardest anyone has tried for the set of people in a long time…

"Okuda-san…" Rio started – in behalf of everyone else. Even if the girl being called out to was being sobbed on currently, she faced the blond and all the others who watched her quizzically.

"Thank you…very much for this." Her smile was genuine and her blue orbs only gave out tenderness and sincerity the mirrored the other three.

"Okuda, you know you really didn't have to but…really, thanks a million." Sugino added and the grip around the bottle with the new energy drink became more firm.

The geek only smiled back, just a tad bit shiny-eyed "No need, this is just my way of trying to show you how I feel about you – and the rest of 3-E. But of course…I'm still really happy." She beamed right then and Karma was sure it's been quite a while since he'd last seen that kind of face from her – and he couldn't help but feel somewhat awed by it.

_'Such a nice girl…'_ Nakamura muttered quietly to herself as she grinned at the girl in front of her.

Meanwhile, Chiba reached for the container of muffins and decided to give one a taste. But once he did, it was like his eyes snapped open when he blurted out "Kind of reminds me of… a mother." As his hand went over his mouth as he savored the taste.

"Mother…?"Hayami blinked when the words came out of her boyfriend but not really boyfriend's mouth.

But the shabby-haired man's sudden statement went through Rio's head a while and she raised her finger in eureka "Ohh! I think I got a title that suits you!" she used the same finger to point at the four-eyed girl and smirked "Combat Club's mother, Okuda Manami-chan!" she laughed at her own joke as did Yuzuki and Sugino – the snipers on their side of the table didn't really find it all that funny.

By this time, Fuwa had let go of the short girl but still had a few tears left on the edge of her eyes – some of which fell due to her giggling "Pft! That means Karma-kun's gonna have to be the father!" and they laughed again. The redhead, in turn, saw this as his chance to join in the hilarious conversation "Oh my, mother, our children must be going through a rebellious phase, let's give them a good spanking." He teased as well as he crouched down and playfully put an arm around the raven-haired girl with his tongue stuck out.

His joke led everyone into another fit of laughter they continued throwing jokes at each other. Meanwhile, Manami contemplated on their words.

"Mother…that sounds nice." This drove the entire room into an abrupt pause and a small surprised sound from Karma. While Okuda was relished in the thought, a blush spread through the redhead's face as his eyeballs shrunk.

Luckily, no one seemed to notice it – or so he thought.

"Hmm?" Nakamura mused when she saw how heat went up the boy's face albeit only for a little while, but this made the blond stretch her lips widely in a mischievous grin. Rinka, having noticed this inquired what it was from her "What's on your mind?"

"I think I just found something that'll entertain me for a _long_ time.

* * *

"Hey, Karma-kun, why were you so silent back then?"

The pair was on their daily walk home after another day of classes. As usual, they'd come home at sunset – when the streets were more vacant compared to other times in the city. They didn't stop for juice today since they both had to admit they were a little full from the earlier muffin feast.

Karma looked down at her and smiled lazily "It's rude to interrupt while someone else is on stage, right? I'm not so low as a life form that would do so much as steal someone's spotlight."

Manami stopped walking and took a few moments to thoroughly understand what he meant while he continued. Once she had gotten the message, she beamed from behind him.

_Oh Karma._

* * *

That night, Hayami came to her room slightly exhausted. She didn't know for what reason why, she just was.

In the midst of her unpacking of her school materials, the clean, yellow notebook she just received a few hours ago was seen from the corner of her eye. It was plain, like the giver – she absentmindedly added.

Curiosity taking over her, she took the notebook and began to browse through it. Amazing, she can actually understand these problems easily because it was put so simply and in such a straightforward manner; what amused her most is that the glasses-ed girl often applied gunning and sniping to the sample problems knowing how much skill and knowledge she had over the weapon. Did she spend her time in middle school observing each of them? Well, that didn't matter anymore, they're not middle schoolers after all.

_'And she says she's not good with words.'_

Rinka flipped through more pages and found a small note at the very last one 'Shoot it straight through! ^o^)/' this made the edges of the orange-head's lips perk up.

Unbeknownst to her, everyone else did that same thing on that same night.

* * *

It's been a week since then, and the days have gone by _much more_ colorfully compared to when Manami first started high school. Her mornings were now filled with delight and anticipation – especially when it got to the end of classes – where she'd be able to spend time with old friends _and_ help people when a request arose (yes, it became official). For the past week, she was able to re-learn how to speak to them as casually as she used to in Middle School (but of course there's still a lot of room for improvement); she was less fidgety now, and she would hesitate less when speaking her mind in front of them.

But the problem was it was _only_ in front of them.

The braided girl eagerly walked in a faster pace than usual to her classroom and hung her bag on the side of her desk before going off to the bathroom. Her mind was bombarded with her expectations for today and she often wondered about how things would plot themselves out; for every single day never really resembled the last.

She hummed a jolly tune as she walked into a vacant cubicle and pursued her thoughts until they were interrupted by a group of snobbish girls.

"Hey, there's that red haired guy in class B, what do you think of him?"

"Oh him? That…Akabane Karma was it?"

"Yeah! He's totally my type!"

"Bad boy, physically attractive and not to mention really smart!"

"There's that but…I notice he's always with this girl every day when classes are over. She's plain though, so she's not really a big deal; still…"

"Oh, that girl, she's my classmate in 1-C, Okuda Manami. Yeah she really is plain no matter how you look at it, and she's got a bad mouth too!"

"What? So that innocent vibe I see from her—"

"Could be a fake one. She's probably acting all weak and innocent like that because she wants to have someone defend her when she gets picked on."

"And I heard he's strong, so you could be right!"

"But either way, a girl with that kind of personality has no chance of winning him over or even any other less cool guy in the school! In fact, I'd be surprised if she was even able to hook up with my classmate Okajima!"

A laughter broke out which bounced off the walls of the almost empty washroom. They echoed in such a wicked manner it would make anyone's eardrums want to malfunction. The stink in the words they just spoke was so bad it would probably have caused korosensei's nostrils to overflow more than it did with the spray Terasaka used on him once.

And after the group left, a small girl remained with her back leaned against the door with her dark bangs hovered above her spectacles to make her expression unreadable; her hands balled into fists against the barrier between her and the cruel, cruel outside world.

* * *

**Yeah, you know I don't exactly know what I feel about this chapter either.  
**

**Last part's rushed cuz my dad forced me to sleep ;w; (Well yeah, it's like 4 am)**

**SORRY! WILL PERFORM EDITS WHEN I HAVE TIME!**

**WARN ME IF THERE'S ANYONE OOC!**

**Hm…I kind of wanna see what your predictions with this question: Who do you think would be the potential best friend/s of Manami from Combat Club? (Karma doesn't count because ship~ 3)**

**Oh well just answer that if you want to. And like last time if it doesn't take too much of your time, can you tell me some notable parts? (BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO) It kind of gives me some inspiration in what kind of scenes I can make that fit to what you all found interesting. **

**OHKAY~ PREVIEW TIME!**

**Chapter 5: What Did You Say That For?**

**Things are going well for Combat Club! Yay! But what about outside of it? Rumors, treachery, sabotage and more and all of this directed at Manami? What did she do this time? And what do the others have to say about it? What's a redhead gonna do when his partner in crime says she...doesn't want his help?**

**FIND OUT MORE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**LEAVE REVIEW PWEASE~**

**Love, TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	5. Chapter 5

**IT'S TOO EARLY FOR AN UPDATE? NONSENSE-*gets shot***

**Anyway, YAY! New chapter! But in all honesty this one's quite jumbled and senseless at some points - I got quite the headache getting my stuff together. But I really really wanted to post this chapter and I can't waste anymore days if I want to get this done for you guys ;w;**

**God. I need sleep XD But I stay up for my love for Karmanami 3**

**Anyway, I just finished! BUT WRITER'S BLOCK HIT ME HARD TOWARDS THE MIDDLE TT_TT I apologize now if you don't understand things or if it didn't turn out all that great.**

**I deeply apologize, I can't write review replies this time ;-; FORGIVE ME! It's late, I just finished and I'm really tired, my eyes can barely keep up with what I'm typing O-O (BOOO! EXCUSES!) SORRY SORRY! I'll be sure to do so with the next chapters every time possible!**

**YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU ALL TT_TT**

**Okay, a little warning, this chapter doesn't have a lot of Karmanami in it (which saddens me _and _you bros). Yeah that's all uwu**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, only story and OC's. If I did then bless me**

**ENOUGH DRAGGING! LET'S MOVE ON TO THIS (I'm not so proud of) CHAPTER!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: What did you say that for? (PART I)**

_I've always wished my life could be as simple as these numbers…_

Thought the girl that sat at the back of the classroom of 1-C. She had her usual get-up on; the braids, the glasses, the knee-level skirt – she was the typical conservative introvert you could find in most high schools. Right now, she had her attention towards a white sheet of paper that had their seatwork inscribed on it neatly with black ink from the school's printer.

Okuda Manami was in the middle of answering the math work their teacher left with them before he went to deal with something in the faculty office. Math wasn't a hard subject for the girl, so naturally she'd be done faster that everyone else. However, something's been up with her lately – she often found herself spaced out and there were times wherein she lacked focus. She's completely aware of the reason why, but she decided to continue to pay no heed to these things for it could disrupt her academic reputation—

"Okuda-san~" sing-songed a girl with walnut-colored hair styled into a ponytail as her hands were tied behind her along with the math seatwork everyone else was doing. The petite girl wasn't entirely used to being talked to by her classmates so her shoulders jerked upwards upon the sound of her name.

"U-Uh…yes, Orihara-san?" she stuttered out and fixed her glasses up which became dislocated due to her shock. The one named Orihara extended her hand with the sheet to Okuda's table and groaned "I seriously can't understand how you do this problem! It's so weird like, what are these numbers?!" the brunette rambled on about her confused state of mind which was actually getting quite annoying to everyone else who wanted to focus in the class.

Manami's hesitant hands reached for her paper "Th-Then I might be able to help you, I guess…" she offered and this made a grin reach the troubled Orihara's face. After she positioned herself to sit beside the girl with the matching braids, she started to point out all of the numbers she had trouble with (Which were a lot).

Minutes filled with 'I don't understand it!' and 'you do it like this' passed by as if each one was equivalent to an hour. Okuda had a rough time trying to get through to the tall student's head with the simplest explanation she could use in order to look for the solution; but sadly no matter how obstinately she wanted to teach her properly, it ended up with the bespectacled girl giving her answers to her loud classmate that didn't even look like she gave an ounce of effort to understand the topic. Manami decided to just give up on her attempts to teach the girl and eventually gave away her own answers just to stop her from annoying the rest of the class with her whining. But another reason was that while Orihara inquired help from her, a group of girls seated at the front row having a conversation would constantly turn to her spot and laugh amongst each other – she chose that it was best if she pretended she didn't see any of it.

After the brunette walked back to her seat with a 'Thanks!' Okuda was left all alone on her desk once more. Thinking she needed something to pass the time while the teacher hadn't arrived yet, she brought the snacks she was to give to her club members later that day. Today, she took her time in the morning to create fish croquettes mixed in with a little egg and milk for a new, creamy-like taste past the crunchiness of the breading; it was another experiment she was proud of, and she does hope they'd enjoy it later.

From the corner of her eye however, she found Orihara helping out other students with the answers she gave her. She didn't mind much, she was a little glad the ponytailed girl didn't claim those answers as her own as she would always mention the fact that Okuda had 'taught' her the answers on the worksheet she passed around the class. But she couldn't shake the bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach.

A few more minutes later, the teacher, Akiyama-sensei, returned with the instruction to pass their papers forward so he could spend the remaining minutes correcting them. But not long after that…

"Class, this is disappointing…" the teacher's tone was soft but it was aggressive as he stood from the teacher's table with all the papers in hand. "I knew you had your own troubles with my subject, but for you to copy off each other's works?!" he slammed the papers onto a girl's desk in the front row – earning him a yelp from the owner of that seat.

1-C was quiet after that – everyone's afraid of an angry teacher, especially if it's a strict and sharp one like Akiyama-sensei. "Don't wait for me to fail all of you; if anyone has something to say, speak now before I write a permanent record of zero for your class' first final grade." This caused everyone's skin to turn cold – math was a major subject after all, and to have your average grade for the term below 75 would be disgrace to the Kimii reputation of award-winning students.

That was when a girl with messy brown curled locks stood up from her seat. Okuda recognized her; she was one of the girls that were whispering with the group that eyed her often just a while ago. Mimura Naoki – she had thick lips that usually had lip gloss on them and an extravagant hair tie that no one could possibly miss from its size as her eyes were dull blue and narrow like Inari's. "Sensei, I'd like to defend voice out a complaint. Why risk the entire class' grade when the one who's at fault is sitting at the back row?"

Manami's eyes widened '_She's putting the blame on…me?'_

That's when the other members of 1-C began to whisper among themselves as Mimura carried on with her statement "Just earlier we caught Okuda sharing answers with her other classmates, don't you think it's justifiable to say that she's the cause of everyone's answers turning out the same?" Akiyama-sensei's brows came together as he studied what his student had just proclaimed. Here and there, the students started nodding at each other.

"Yeah, I remember Orihara-san saying Okuda-san was the one that gave her those answers willingly." Said one boy that sat on the other side of the room while the ponytailed, walnut crowned girl sunk in her seat guiltily, but she said nothing to correct her classmate's sentence.

"Okuda-san, please step forward." Akiyama-sensei tried to hide the disbelief behind his voice – Okuda Manami? Of all people, she was the last one he expected to break one of his house rules, and that was to cheat in any way possible.

Manami could only look on the entire scene pathetically with her mouth agape – her heart only felt all the more heavy when the other students began to scowl at her. When her name was called, she forced her legs to collect enough strength and stand as a sign of respect to her teacher even at a time like this.

Slowly, she stepped up to approach her teacher – feeling everyone's eyes fixated on her. Before she made it to her destination by the teacher's table, she glanced at Orihara and gave her a pleading look; to tell everyone in the class that she didn't spread it, to probably have some good in her heart to take the blame with her. But unfortunately, all the girl did was avert her eyes the moment she was met with Manami's purple orbs – and Okuda's heart fell.

The chemistry-lover's eyeballs rose up for her to get a view of her teacher's face, in some silent language trying to tell him that she's innocent and it was all a misunderstanding. Akiyama-sensei looked at her pitifully – he didn't want to humiliate her like this or pass punishment on the short girl, but if no one was going to defend her, not even herself, he had no choice.

"Okuda-san…your grades in math are one of the best in this class, but you should know better than to just give away your answers like that. For now, I'll only deduct 20% from your paper and talk to you at lunchtime; if another incident similar to this happens again, it'll be doubled. " He looked down at the girl who had her head bowed to him so he couldn't see her face that was on the verge of tears.

"Y-Yes, sensei…"

And behind her, Mimura Naoki's group exchanged smirks of triumph.

The 12PM chime rang across the Kimii campus. This was the hour for all students to sit back and relax or just plain have fun with whatever they find interesting. Things became noisier by the minute, just like every other lunch hour. But the same could not be said by a lone, redheaded boy that rested himself on an isolated bench as he awaited his own 'noise' to show up – but the quiet minutes passed shorter than one would expect; and all through the time, she didn't arrive.

Karma stared at the empty spot next to him as leaves had begun to collect above it. This was a first – after all, Okuda's the punctual type; and if she had a reason for not being able to show up, she'd tell him straight away.

All of a sudden, he didn't feel like drinking his juice any more.

* * *

"We have another request?" Nakamura Rio lazily worded out as she relaxed herself by the table – her elbows were propped on the table as she slowly took more bites out of Manami's successful fish croquettes. The aftertaste was amazing and quite new to the blond's taste buds at the same time; she absolutely adored the poison-maker's experimental cooking, it seemed to be the same case for another member of Combat Club as Yuzuki had her second plate already.

"Yep, they've been piling up recently but today we're extremely free~!" exclaimed the mangaka wannabe as she took a sip from the juice she bought in the cafeteria.

Club today composed of everyone lazed about in the wooden room as they delighted themselves with the treats Okuda usually brought for them. But at least they were productive enough to have Sugino and Chiba work on installing the new refrigerator just below the sink. It took a lot of time for them to fully polish the old wall where they planned to put the fridge, but it was the only part of the room that had a plug socket attached to it. They had to thank Hayami for locating it otherwise they wouldn't really know what to do with the free appliance. Speaking of Hayami, the ginger currently had her hands full with engrossing herself into Manami's notes – that's an overachiever for you, but of course she remained kind enough to have a taste of the small-framed girl's delicious meals as she would take cute, tiny bites from the one she's had in her hand for a while now.

Karma was, as always, leaned against the stove in his lazed fashion with his hands inserted in his pockets as he would occasionally join into conversations – for a club president, he's pretty silent when club hours come along and would only really speak up when things get interesting (to him).

"Done!" Sugino stretched his arms out above him after finally installing the piece of metal; Chiba would open its door from time to time to check if the temperature had gone down and make adjustments if he found anything odd – as always, he was business-like and serious with his jobs.

"Oh! Good job!" Fuwa praised as she walked over to where they're new refrigerator was stationed. Rio's eyes lit up after the baseball player's announcement and lifted her head from her palms to see how their work had gone – even Rinka decided to stop reading to spare a glance.

"Yay~!" Rio beamed and gave the proud Sugino a thumbs up.

Karma had expected Okuda to join in the celebration, but once he looked way long enough to get the idea she was spaced out and clearly distracted by something, he felt something odd already.

He wasn't the only one that put this into his mind for Rinka had been staring at her for a while as well, and Manami hadn't shifted her gaze to anywhere but the empty plate of snacks she brought with her.

"Okuda-san." Karma called out to her with his carefree smile, which gained him the attention the rest of the members of his club. Okuda's half-lidded eyes were suddenly snapped open at the mention of her name as she snapped out of her exhausted state to tilt her head curiously at the redhead.

"Can I have a word with you outside?" he still kept a beam on while he used his thumb to point to the other side of the door. Manami only blinked, and before she could say or do anything, he was already pulling her by the wrist to go out. "E-Eh? W-Wait!" was the last thing she said before they both disappeared from the other member's sight.

"I wonder what happened?" Fuwa was the first one to ask until Rio had a wicked grin formed on her face and sniggered "Heehee…lover's talk."

"Did you say something, Nakamura?" Sugino asked in a quizzical tone, but she only reverted back to her old position and answered half-heartedly

"Nothing~"

* * *

Karma had brought them quite a distance away from the clubroom – about 4 rooms prior to it if measured.

And though Okuda panted after being brought here at a fast pace, the redhead with her didn't really have a reaction to the run; of course, he's the strongest assassin of 3-E.

His actions left her to wonder what brought this on as he gave her time to catch her breath. Karma's been nothing but passive the entire day, so of course she'd be bewildered at the sudden request of his to leave the room so abruptly. (then again, even if it wasn't Karma, it'd still be surprising to just get pulled out of a room).

After her breaths had steadied, he spoke with his back turned "What's wrong?" it was a humorless voice that came out, one that demanded answers – and this was certainly not the first time she'd heard it

Manami let out a small sound to indicate how she was a little taken aback.

_Was I that obvious?_

This time, he turned around and kept his face straight – his gaze never faltered as his eyes searched hers for an indirect answer; unfortunately, they refused to show anything but a tiny amount of distress. "You're not yourself." He continued and hoped she would answer him eventually like she did last time.

But to his dismay, she displayed a disheartened smile and looked up at him innocently "I see, I guess I have been distracted lately. But Karma-kun, that's nothing you need to worry about." She reassured him – even raising a weak fist to her chest to prove her stand on this "I just got a little tangled up in something, but I'll take care of it. Relax, Karma-kun." She tried her best to sound zealous, and she thought she'd done an okay job at it as she took this chance to jog back to their clubroom to be rid of the topic.

_I don't want to be spoiled _

Karma can see right through it, but he wasn't sure if he should leave this to her – since that would probably be the best course of action for an introvert to grow. But still…he couldn't stop the feeling of uneasiness in his gut; and of course, Karma listens to his gut even if he wasn't aware of what caused her to be this way – but it should only be a matter of time before he finds out what's going on.

Why he was so concerned was something he wasn't entirely certain of but…

_'Akabane-san…'_

He clenched his teeth and couldn't stop how his brows furrowed to accompany the narrowing of his eyes to the direction she ran off to.

* * *

Manami remained even after club hours. Outside the window was a brilliant array of sunset colors as the clouds seemed to have formed a magnificent swirl similar to that of a milkshake above the town.

Right now, she was in the middle of testing a few chemicals inside the lab as per Mikagura-sensei's request. The orange-headed teacher needed some assistance with a few chemicals she wanted to demonstrate to her other classes tomorrow – of course the geek couldn't be more than happy to help out. But at the moment, her appointer was not present in the room for she ran out of the lab proclaiming she had 'something to do' Which Manami assumed involved an ex-boyfriend.

Really, that teacher should just find someone to hook up with already.

"Malonic acid and sulfuric acid should be able to…" she held up two flasks that were to hold the result of her creation later on. Carefully, she measured the contents of the formulas she wanted to put to use for the little 'magic show' Mikagura-sensei wanted to put up for her to somehow get love from her students (to make up for the lack of a man in her life).

Manami's thought process and focus was broken once she heard a small knock from the entrance. Turning her head to find out who it was, she didn't expect to see Yuzuki by the door with her school bag in hand "You're not going to go home yet?" the otaku asked politely as she took a step inside the room.

Okuda shook her head "I still have a lot to do. Fuwa-san, it's getting late, shouldn't you go home by now?" she inquired from her. Fuwa sat down on one of the tables inside the laboratory "I was, but that was until I saw you. Okuda-san, is it okay to ask why you spend your time cooped up in here?"

"Eh— I have to help Mikagura-sen—"

"That's not what I meant." Yuzuki crossed her arms and as she looked to the bespectacled girl questioningly. This appeared to have startled the short girl since the only reply she could give was a slight tilt of her head. However, once she got a grasp of what she meant, she blinked in understanding – Fuwa-san was talking about middle school; how she would spend hours in the chemistry lab alone. Truth be told, this habit never faded away for she would spend time in Kimii's Chemistry lab whenever Karma couldn't accompany her (And that's what she did before he even came to the picture).

Manami hummed in the process of contemplating her words until she finally just worded out what came at the top of her head "I enjoy doing these kinds of things, I consider chemistry my friend after all. I always think to myself that this is so much easier than dealing with people…" those last set of words brought a bittersweet smile to the braided girl.

"Hm…" Yuzuki mumbled as she gave Okuda's words some thought – kind of reminded her of a pessimistic NEET character from those game genre anime.

"But…" the dark-haired girl continued as she faced her fellow club member with eyes that seemed distant – like she was dreaming "Even if that's so, sometimes I like to imagine that I'm here making something for people that are counting on me to help them. Like, I'd be able to make a chemical formula for people and they'd say 'I'm glad' or something like that instead of something that could scare people away…" Manami's gaze fell to the work left on her table as she would imagine it; because usually, when she mentions something about chemicals she made herself, they immediately deem it as something dangerous and only assassination-worthy.

Fuwa's heart softened at the introvert's words – really, a nice girl indeed. She can make more friends with that kind of thinking if only she had a little more courage to do so. Getting up from her seat, she stepped forth and walked to the space beside the science nerd. "Would you mind if you taught me a few things? I'd like to lend a hand because I find it interesting now that you've opened up to me about it, after all, there was this one really good manga I read where chemistry was its heart!"

At that moment, Manami felt herself brim with joy – this was the first time anyone's offered to learn science with her; she thought she'd only be able to see this day in her dreams.

"Mm!" she nodded enthusiastically and started to become ecstatic; finally, something to feel good about after everything that's happened today.

Okuda began to eagerly discuss what each and every material on her table did and how they could work well with one another as Yuzuki, in turn, would happily oblige with whatever her teacher would ask her to do while she would listen attentively.

Outside the rather active room, a sniper leaned her back on the door with crossed arms, a smile on her lips as she listened to the shy girl talk about her ambitions and wishes for the future – how she wanted to be of use to everyone around her even if they were the ones that rejected her in the first place. Originally, Hayami had gone here to clear her earlier suspicions but found herself eavesdropping afterwards.

She walked out of the building not too long after to leave the two alone with their 'lesson' and later ran into Chiba.

"What did you have to check out?"

"It's fine now. I'm just...worried about what's to come."

* * *

Class 1-C now had their Japanese class ongoing. This had to be everyone's most feared subject because when people say Japanese period, it means Yuma-sensei, and when people say Yuma-sensei, it literally means the opposite of his name.*

He was tall and his back was slouched in a stiff manner; he had grey hair that matched up with his age and somehow his face always had some kind of 'permanent scowl' that instills fear into the hearts of his students. To say this teacher is strict is an understatement – he is the very **epitome** of that word.

And right now, he's instructed his students to prepare for an impromptu Japanese recitation that would be worth a lot for the term after he distributed the playwright – of course the class was in a panic. Lucky for most, it was arranged by pair _and _they were allowed to hold onto the script, so their worries about being humiliated on stage alone and all other sorts of problems were somewhat eased.

However, things couldn't have been worse for the only introverted character of the class. Number one, this was her most difficult subject; number two, her partner could've been anyone else, but did it have to be Kimizuki? She found herself asking that to the universe, for the short haired girl had to be the most uncomfortable partner she could have considering how things played out between them in the beginning – and the fact that she witnessed her confess to her precious friend, which only doubled the awkward; and finally the third reason…

She can't do an on-stage act; even _more_ so, if she had to do it in front of Mimura's group, whom have bothered her for days now, and the rest of the class – but that is what she had been doomed to do for today.

"Okay Okuda-san, I know this is your weak subject so I'll take the hard part for you, okay?" Kimizuki placed a hand on Manami's shoulder to support the tensed geek. Bless her for being one of the kind ones of this class; she spent their minutes of practice throwing her some support and giving her tips on how to say this and that and what kind of mood she should bring out in the entire scene.

"O-O-Okay, K-Kimizuki-san…! I-I'll t-try my best…" she gulped – this clearly wasn't her thing, but her grade depended on it. She constantly reminded herself that all she had to do was try her best; that was what got her her precious classmates back, right? She just has to focus and everything should be alright.

The anxiety seemed to have lessened at the thought of how she was able to get her old classmates back in her life – somehow she was actually proud of herself for being able to go that far.

More minutes of practice and undying distraught passed until it was time for each pair to present what they have prepared themselves for – albeit it being short noticed.

After the class had settled down (which didn't take too much time), Yuma-sensei stood behind the teacher's table looking like he was ready to pass judgement in Supreme Court. No one in class had the guts to look at him straight in the eye – they fear being struck with a curse as some rumors stated. Furthermore, he always calls his students randomly, which adds up to everyone else' troubles.

_Badump_

At the time, Manami couldn't breathe, and she was sure everyone else couldn't. Her heart gave out slow, steady beats, but its volume was strong as she could feel her fingers hardening around the grip she had on her skirt.

_Badump_

At last, Yuma-sensei cleared his throat and ended their suspenseful misery "First ones to go are…"

_Badump_

"Okuda and Kimizuki, step on to the front of the class." At that moment, the braided girl felt all hope and light shatter as a curse from her partner reached her ears.

"Don't make me wait, I'll deduct points." He growled before taking a seat to the side where he would watch the performance with his old but sharp eye.

Both girls stood up without a second thought at his warning and slowly approached their stage. Kimizuki gave one last glance at her partner and muttered "Remember, keep calm and say the climax line with conviction; it's okay, I'll lead you through" another supportive hand made its way to Manami's shoulder – and all the girl could do then was gulp, hope for the best, and gather her courage; the best way to do the last one was remind herself of what she had done to get far with her club members and former classmates.

For a moment there, she felt a little lighter – like this won't turn out as bad as she originally expected it to be. The stiffness of her fingers slowly began to loosen and her knees which shook uncontrollably just moments ago felt more flexible. Now, she actually thinks she has a chance at this.

"You may start." And Yuma-sensei initiated his judgmental eye and high standards with that never-faltering frown of his. Kimizuki mumbled her one last 'good luck' before she proceeded with the act.

"Food for thought! Over what has been lost. Days of long ago…" Kimizuki started it out perfectly – even the gestures and facial expressions were spot on, and Manami can only look at her in awe. Thinking quickly however, she snapped out of her amazement and forced herself to focus. _'You can do this…I have to give my best like Kimizuki-san!'_

The shy girl had her eyes trained on the paper as she awaited her first line – the last thing she'd want is to get them both a bad grade while she's the only one with the problem.

Suddenly, a small spark of confidence boosted within her – she was ready now. All she had to do was give her all in this one short poetry recital, and she could end this phase without regrets.

The class representative was almost done with her part; Okuda now had herself under control…

Until she locked gazes with Mimura.

The world stopped for a moment as Manami felt her eyeballs shrink under her now glint-less glasses.

But Mimura Naoki wasn't doing anything – in fact, she was smiling casually at Okuda with her knuckles pressed to her cheek as she watched her with an amused smile. But it was her eyes that gave a grim message and took away any ounce of courage she was able to collect that time. The shaking in her knees came back as well as the slow rhythm of her heart that now boomed even louder beneath her chest.

**_You can't do it_**

"…uda-san…!"

Manami's shoulders jerked up when she realized Kimizuki's part was done seconds ago; everything was returning to reality, and the small girl couldn't act and follow the same pace the world was going – she felt as if she'd been left behind because the world moved too fast for her.

Her eyes moved frantically around the room as her breath hitched in her state of confusion.

_What was going on again?_

Then her purple orbs travelled to where her teacher carefully watched them and everything came back to her once she gave her desperate-looking partner a small glance.

"Okuda, speak." Demanded Yuma-sensei with eyes displaying ultimate displeasure – she's tongue tied again.

"T-T-T-Time…! E-erases all t-t-t-that once… was! I-I-It no lo-lo—Ah!" because of all the shaking and uncertainty that pulsed throughout her body, she had inevitably dropped her copy of the poem to the floor.

"O-Oh my…u-uhh…" Manami crouched down and hastily attempted to pick up the set of papers until she was stopped by the disappointed voice of her elderly teacher.

"I've seen enough, sit down."

Then the girl's body felt like it had just been paralyzed. All of that preparation, all of the things she'd been able to accomplish this week felt like it had been useless – it was like everything went back to square one, where she was nothing but a dust in the wind passing by the world full of busy people with lives to attend to, and all she did was get caught in someone's eye to irritate them.

But that wasn't the only issue.

Slowly, Okuda turned her head to have a look at her partner's reaction, only to find her view blocked by the dark bangs that hung over her blue orbs. After all Kimizuki had done to get her to perform well, she just _had_ to play a stunt like that.

The guilt she felt at the time overwhelmed her so much, Manami wasn't able to stand as she merely stared at her partner with a greatly appalled expression. How could she? It's all been for naught now.

"K-….Kimizuk—"

"Enough." Her tone was bilious – like all the radiance that revolved around her character had been swept away. The short haired girl finally made eye contact with her partner, but the emotion her blue eyes had nothing in it but pure distaste and despondency.

"It's not like I ever expected anything from you anyway."

The amount of hurt Manami felt at the time was immeasurable as she felt herself drown in the deep abyss that swirled about in her mind and ate away whatever good she felt about herself and – almost – the world itself.

_Ouch._

* * *

"Omo-chaaaaan!" a rather short girl with a green bow tied behind her long, pale, brown hair called out with her hands by the sides of her mouth each time she would cry out the name of her strange pet.

It was now lunch time, and Isura Mai currently spent it in the school's garden right beside the cafeteria as she repeated the name of her baby pig-bear hybrid over and over. Everyone else had themselves scattered around the school doing who knows what with the hour they were given.

"Omo-chaaan! Just because I said you had to take your medicine doesn't mean you're allowed to run away and hide!" Mai took out a tiny bottle from her blazer pocket to try and lure her pet out – but it only did the opposite. In a nearby bush hid away the frightened Omo-chan as he tremored under the words 'medicine' from his not so official owner.

"Omo-chan! If you want to get better you have to drink this you know." She continued to pursue the brown furball as she looked around for any sign of him around the bushes – until she heard some really nasty words just from a group of girls right in front of her.

They were…laughing, and it didn't seem like anything was all that funny to the vice president as she listened in to their conversation – rude it may be, but she couldn't let this slip by especially when she heard the words 'braided nerd'; and of course, she had a hunch on who it was.

"Hey your partner earlier was really annoying, you know that?" said one of them as she placed a hand on her hip egotistically. The other girl she talked to was the only one Isura could see clearly from her place of hiding – she was shorter than the rest and harbored dark hair that caressed her neck due to its short length; another characteristic to be pointed out was the mole under her sea blue eyes.

"Yeah, well, saying that won't get me back my grade. It was already frustrating enough to be partners with her in the first place – and here I thought I could save myself from this by letting _her_ get the bad grade. Yuma-sensei's a tough nut to crack after all." She gave an exasperated sigh as her brows furrowed in annoyance.

Another one of them spoke, this time Mai noticed something – it was a way too extravagant hairtie that kept her brown locks styled in a…the vice president will just assume that's a ponytail.

"Well, at the very least, she crashed down hard earlier!" and a laugh broke out between the group – more snide remarks that agreed with her statement followed through.

"Yeah! Did you see her face?! It was priceless!"

"To think someone like her hangs out with _that_ Akabane-kun? I'm pretty sure he's fed up with her already! How could he even think of rejecting you Kimizuki?!"

"I'd rather you not talk about that." Said the girl named Kimizuki as her eyes rolled at the memory "But I have to admit, she's pretty useless unless you get her to answer your science and math problems for you. Other than that, I'm still confused why Akabane-kun doesn't just ditch her. He must be pretty tired to deal with someone _so troublesome_"

It had to be that same moment for Manami to come out of the cafeteria just to hear her last set of words. A smirk formed on some of the girl's face – they wanted her to hear that.

The group of obnoxious women just stared back at the frail girl who slowed her steps after she registered what they just said. Once she spotted Kimizuki give her a hateful glare and avert it away from her, all the poor girl could do was face the floor guiltily, doing her utmost to ignore the taunting stares that followed after her as she quickened her pace to the other building.

They broke into a fit of laughter again "Did you see that?!"

"It looked like a small mouse lost and confused running away from cats!"

Not wasting another second, Isura jumped from her spot behind the bushes and ran after the girl as she bit on her lower lip – she couldn't stand anymore of the terrible scene. To hear all of that coming from freshmen this early into the year was unheard of, but before she does anything, she had to make things clear first. Even the small Omo-chan looked a bit worried after witnessing his caretaker take off just like that after she watched a tiny set of girls.

The sudden reaction Mai had brought out triggered a silence from the bullies – of course, she's the vice president so it's a given to be known by many by this time. Right now, she was happy about the power she had over students

At least she was able to shut them up.

Omo-chan could sense his owner's agitation from where he was stationed and animal instinct took over. He leapt from under the bushes and charged at the females.

"What is tha—**_OW!_**"

* * *

"Okuda-san!"

Manami's eyes widened after she heard the familiar voice carried out with concern. Turning around, she spots her senior panting to her direction as her light but urgent footsteps would fill the empty corridor with sound.

"Isura-senpai?"

Mai took a few moments to catch her breath but didn't want to wait any longer for some answers "Okuda-san, what was that just now?" her eyes showed affliction as they demanded to know what Okuda had been going through for the past week. The girl in question stared at her in bewilderment _'When did she…?'_

"How long has this been happening?" her face and tone spelled out that she absolutely needed to know; as the vice president and caring person she is, she can't let slip by what she just saw before her eyes – more importantly, the victim was one of her closest juniors.

Manami remained silent as she turned a small look of agony to the floor and pursed her lips. Her shoulders tensed up as the grip she had on her bento had tightened in an attempt to hold in all the pain she's collected (and tried throwing away), so she couldn't answer and refused to look at her schoolmate's perturbed eyes.

Isura frowned at this. She got the message "Why won't you tell anyone?"

The bespectacled female raised her head to reveal a bleak smile to somehow hide away whatever she felt at the moment. The vice president, being able to read people well, found this heartbreaking.

"Senpai, I appreciate your concern over me, but…I want to deal with my own problems by myself…" her eyes fell downcast once more in reminiscence of a memory that a certain brunette once triggered in the beginning of the year. "I can't afford to let other people get sucked in and get hurt with me…so it's better for both myself and the people around me."

Isura was speechless. How can she tell the girl in front of her what she wants to say without having to pry into her fixed mind? She knew that to try convincing her of what she believes would end up being futile – she knows Manami and how much she wants to grow out of her shell by herself _for_ herself and those she considers important to her, which is a good thing but…

"So please, Isura-senpai. Don't tell anyone and…

Forget about it."

* * *

_The following day…_

"So teacher's deliberations are being held today?" a dark-haired boy questioned the girl that travelled alongside him

"Yeah, so that means no teachers for the rest of the afternoon~!" the blond stretched her arms up and placed them behind her head in an indifferent fashion.

Classes were over that day, and halls were noisy as ever as Nakamura and Sugino walked out of the cafeteria on their way to club – they just happened to run into each other.

"If there are no teachers then that means no one's gonna be supervising the club hours, not that it's a problem for us, but other clubs probably need them." Sugino said as he munched on his chicken sandwich – Manami told them she wasn't able to get so much sleep that night, hence no treats from her today.

"Like you said, that's not our problem~" Rio sing songed in a delightful manner as her steps seemed to go with some beat. Sugino sighed at this _'Well, at least one other staff member is available'_ his mind drifted off to a maroon-haired woman in a white nurse' coat; truth be told he found her a little scary with that intimidating look in her narrow eyes. His brain apparently portrayed her to resemble some chibi mad scientist with that 'I'm an adult so I'm better than you' vibe.

Just as the pair was about to make their turn to the next hall, Rio halted before they were seen by a pair of boys having a suspicious conversation.

"Nakamura—"

"Sh!" she sharply placed a finger in front of her mouth to shut him up as they eavesdropped on them. The spiky-haired boy was unsure of what brought this up with his companion, but he soon figured out what it was after he registered some words.

"Hey, that girl Okuda, do you know her?"

"Oh yeah, classmate of mine, I got her to do my science homework for me once, what about her?"

"What do you think of her?"

"Really plain, conservative and kind of boring. But she looks innocent and I actually find her cute." This sentence caused Rio's brow to twitch unnervingly.

"Rumor has it she's faking."

"Faking? It kind of looks real to me. Like the way she fidgets around when she's nervous is just hilarious! Everyone in the class thinks so too, so it's fun to watch!"

"She's only acting that way to get people to move to her side. It's the oldest trick in the book, they say, to act weak so that you can have others fight for you when you're picked on. That's what I heard from Mimura Naoki."

"Mimura Naoki? Hm, she's usually accurate with her rumors so it could be true. But so long as she can still do my homework for me I'm good."

"You're probably right; hey, maybe we can get her to play with us sometime!"

_That tears it_.

Fists were clenched, teeth were grit and eyes gave out murderous intent. Nakamura Rio fumed with rage before she charged at them – even Sugino, who was usually not as impulsive, felt the urge to give those two a nice beating.

But that was until they felt a pair of hands clutch the back of their shirts. Rio was the first one to turn around to see who the _hell_ stopped her from bringing those two down to hell and back but calmed down a bit due to the surprise of realizing who it was.

"Isura-senpai?!" Sugino exclaimed - . The girl in question had her face hid behind her hair as she shook her head vigorously to prevent them from creating a ruckus in the middle of school, and for another reason…

Rio clicked her tongue once her targets had disappeared into the next hall without having received proper punishment; naturally, some of her anger shifted to their club's council support "Senpai! Why did you stop us?!"

The shorter girl's mouth quivered – never lifting her head as she just shook it. Truth be told, she didn't want to stop them; but for Okuda's sake, she can't allow her precious club members to get involved in the mess the shy girl tried so hard to keep to herself for a week and a half.

"…You know something, don't you, Isura-senpai?" the blond peered at her with a demand _and_ right to know just what was up. Rio, sharp as she was, left the senior speechless and unmoving – which only confirmed her earlier statement.

"Senpai, tell us what's going on, _now_" It was rare for Sugino to be so pressing, but this was a matter that looked to be too big for itself and the ones involved. Not to mention, that conversation between those two students was far from anything pleasant – now the problem's under their noses and it couldn't smell worse.

Mai's shoulders shuddered – she couldn't bear it anymore.

_'I'm sorry, Okuda-san'_

* * *

"Okuda-san!"

Just as Manami was about to leave for her daily club meeting, one of her classmates, Tomo Fujimura, environmental chairman, called her out with an expression of mild urgency – which had her taken aback for this boy never really talked with her. He had blond hair, but its shade was much darker compared with Nakamura's as it was styled with the coconut-style haircut.

He panted toward her, resting his hands on his knees in the process "Phew, I made it."

"Y-yes? W-What do you need Fujimura-kun?" the braided girl stammered as her body tensed up. The one named Fujimura beamed at her embarrassingly "Sorry to drag you out like this but I'd like to ask for some of your assistance with something."

* * *

"P-Project?"

"Yep. The other class officers were discussing about how we could make our school a little greener and more 'colorful' as you might say it."

They were outside of the building by now, heading towards a very old-looking tool shed just in the middle of the school's field. It looked so old, the building itself could fall apart all on its own. Manami started to feel anxious about what she's gotten herself into.

"S-So there are chem-chemicals in there you want me to test?

"Not exactly test; I'd kinda want you to tell me what they do too. Since Mikagura-sensei's busy with deliberations, you're the next best person for the job." Fujimura pried the door open with his foot to reveal a very dusty wooden storage room with rusted tools that don't look to be of much use now. In the center of a room was a flat, wooden storm cellar that led to another storage room.

Just by the sight of it Okuda felt a shill go up her spine "Th-The chemicals a-a-are in t-there?" the splutters became worse each step she made that brought her closer to the cellar.

"Sure are." He turned a heel to look at her clearly frightened form and smiled, amused "Don't worry, I'll follow after you and keep the door open." He smiled again, this time reassuringly.

Manami gulped, she'd lost the ability to oppose.

Fujimura grabbed the cellar's handle and pulled – it was one heck of a struggle if you considered how long it's never been touched.

Minutes passed, and finally it gave in – a bog of dust came out with it which led to the blond boy sneezing. "After you." He wiped his nose and gestured for her to make her entrance.

With another deep breath, the introverted girl stepped inside. Each time her foot would make contact with the wooden stairs it would give out a loud creak that was similar to that of a crow's cry. It didn't look like anyone cared enough to install a lamp here for it was dark – the only light she had was that which came from the opened doors.

"Fuji-Fujimura-kun which way are they?" her eyesight was bad enough, and the lack of light didn't help at all.

"It's there, just up front." '_This'll be priceless_.' Just then, a twisted smile formed on his face as he brought his phone out from the back pocket.

"I d-d-don't se-see anything here Fujimura-ku…-" she trailed off with a dumbfounded expression gracing her features.

It started with the sound of creaking wood, and at the same time whatever light she had in that room disappeared each time it would get louder, and it ended with the sound of metal as the doors were slammed shut with a loud bang.

And she was left alone in the pitch black darkness of a dusty basement.

Outside of it, the jeering Fujimura Tomo cackled after getting a good catch of Okuda's face when the doors suddenly closed on video. "Hah! Hilarity! Next is—eh?"

Since the furniture within this small shed was already on the verge of demolishing themselves, it would be wise to be careful with how you handle them.

Fujimura Tomo was not wise enough.

Because he had slammed the door on her with too much force (he wanted her to pee her pants if ever), a wooden shelf that already had too much to carry became unstill due to the impact of the action he just made – it swayed from side to side for seconds as the environmental chairman looked on with shock clouding his eyes and freezing his limbs.

But upon instinct, he jumped out of the way once the big shelf chose where it was supposed to land.

And if his eyes could grow any wider than they already were, they did.

"O-…Okuda-…san…?"

* * *

To say Karma saw this coming is a little of an understatement. True, he's not completely aware of what started this and why it did in the first place, but observant as he was, the whispers he hears in the hallways about Okuda-san being a fake don't just come out of the other ear. But as for the other things the older girl in front of him mentioned, this was the first time he had heard of such– so currently, he was a tad bit peeved at his chemistry loving friend for not even mentioning this even if they hang out daily (and himself for being ignorant). He knew she had no proper reason to be obligated to tell him, but lately he'd been getting ahead of himself when it came to the bespectacled girl. He'll have a talk with her later.

Isura Mai had ended her explanation and she earned was silence from everyone within the clubroom. They expressed their disgust to the subject by presenting scowls on their faces – specifically from Nakamura, Sugino and Fuwa.

"…she thinks that if you help her, she can't grow up and she'll only be a bother to you." Mai's grave blue eyes shifted to where Karma lazily seated himself by the window of the clubroom. He's another reason for all this, but she can't just bring herself to say that and create an awkward situation.

That'll be for Okuda to explain to him.

Rio finally broke the silence when she got up from her seat and proceeded to walk out the door.

"And where are you going?" Karma asked nonchalantly as his eyes had travelled to where she halted.

"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm going to look for her." She kept her back turned to him, her tone just as nonchalant.

"And then what?" well, they're both pissed at her it seems – she was giving off the same vibe he was.

"…Talk some sense into her." Rio put her hand on the door, and before Fuwa volunteered to do so with her, the entire room had been interrupted by the sound of a student's muffled yells in the corridor that became louder and louder until it was clear enough that it was a boy's humorless shrieks heading for their room.

"ISURA-SAN! ISURA-SAN! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" the blond backed away from the door and gave way to whatever this schoolmate – who most likely is a second year student – of theirs had to say for it didn't look like it was any matter to laugh at.

"W-What's wrong?!" Mai said this in a panicked tone as she could feel herself get nervous – she had a feeling she greatly didn't want to know what this was.

"I-IN THE SCHOOL SHED! A GIRL FROM 1ST YEAR CLASS C'S BEEN…!"

Individual gasps and cries broke out from everyone in the entire room as each of their eyeballs shrunk at how inconceivable it all sounded. The gloss in each one's eyes went away in a snap after the words registered.

And on Karma's side, all he could do the second he listened to such unbelievable words was turn his body sharply to the window with a haunted expression over his face. His breath became uneasy after he let out his own shocked sound along with the unsteady beat of his heart.

Mercury eyes were wide with horror as they traveled to the old school shed just within their window's view, where his Okuda-san was.

* * *

The shrill cries of a helpless girl filled the empty, pitch black basement of an old school shed; and above its doors laid a wreck of heavy materials similar to that of a house' debris after an earthquake.

No matter how much of her strength she used to push it off, the doors wouldn't budge even the slightest; they were blocked by the metals and pieces of wood that would probably crush her if the wooden doors couldn't handle any more of it.

This then left the poor girl alone

On her own

In the **_dark._**

* * *

** ' K**_  
_

**TT_TT**

**I know have a feeling there are lots of errors and for that I'm very sorry ;-;**

**Okay well I guess that's it for today! **

**By the way what I mean by Karma gets ahead of himself lately is because of that one night she called him just to tell him her feelings and what she'll do. So from then on Karma probably thought she'd tell him anything. But he was WROONG**

**I don't know just thought I'd tell you ;D (is not in her right mind at the moment)**

**_*_Yuma: masculine or feminine name which means for feminine "beautiful or graceful dancer."**

**I GOT THE POEM FROM HERE~: poems/long/japanese**

**_yeaaahhh..._I'm pretty sure I've pissed some of you off huh XD Well everything's been just peachy for the past few chapters so might as well O3O  
**

**ANYWAY! I MUST DEPART AND GATHER MORE IDEAS THROUGH DREAMING AND SLUMBER!**

**OHH! QUESTION: Who do you guys ship with Sugino? Or do you ship him with anyone at all? TELL ME~! ^W^**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW SO I CAN BE INSPIRED TO WRITE MORE ^_^ (And I will answer them next time ;-;) Also I'd like to encourage you to write what you found notable this time ^w^ 3**

**With lots of love, TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	6. Chapter 6

**I AM HERE! YAY! CHAPTER 6! I must have made you all feel pretty bad with that cliffhanger...HEH #noregrets**

**ANYWAY! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS ON LAST CHAPTER! (Seriously they were a lot! That's why this is up so soon ^w^)**

**The last part's rushed again though because I got sleepy on the way ;w;**

**I STILL HAVE TO WORK ON MOTHER'S DAY SURPRISE! *shoots self* Anyway! This chapter's pretty short compared to the past 4, well because it's not the end of arc yet and I couldn't really fit it all in one this time TT-TT**

**Let me just say that this chapter took me a day (which was yesterday) to arrange. Okay before the sleepiness takes over me again, I shall answer your beautiful reviews! (wow a lot)**

**purplepaisley: Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate it~! (Wagas ka rin beh 3)**

**KisaragiMaru: Oh thanks for reviewing again! ^w^ Yeah Manami's class sucks but that's life (sorrynotsorrylol XD)oh thank you for answering that! I was actually thinking of something for the fic so thanks!**

**animeandmangafangirl: Good to see you again in my reviews page! And to really know if that dude's gonna die is down there X"D I'm happy that I'm able to help you with your stressful about-to-go-to-college life! GOOD LUCK! I'm 2 years away so yeah ;-; Thanks for answering! I was wondering how much people ship Kanzaki and Sugino, if they're OTP then I won't touch Sugino...;w; Thanks for the tip!**

**MugiPyon: WOW THAT IS LONG XD BUT I VERY MUCH LOVE YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO WRITE SUCHA LONG REVIEW AND NO YOU'RE NOT SPAMMING I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! Very very big thanks for all the tips and compliments, they mean a lot to me and thanks for pointing things out! I'll do my best to apply edits and improvements! Yes, you and Fuwa will have a wonderful time otaku-izing the entire Class E. Thanks for the mother-father scene fangirl ;D That idea literally came out of nowhere XDD Thanks for the vote and answering the question! Now I wonder if I should touch Sugino or not...(NOT IN THAT WAY). LOL some of the names come out of nowhere to XD But Mikagura-sensei isn't Eruna 8"D**

**Guest: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it! **

**Akabane-san: Thank YOU for reviewing, you're awesome. Thanks for taking the time to read this! And only find out down there 8D**

**Quilla The Silent: THANKS GIRL! Another review from you is really heartwarming, I look forward to more of your reviews! And really thank you for pointing those out and how you felt about the chapter! It got me working to this one ^W^ Sugino and Rio huh...I'll think about it XD**

**I12BFree: Thanks for the review! FIND OUT MORE DOWN THERE~ #PoorManami #Stop1-C**

**kuroneko051: Thanks for the review and pointing that out! That's actually a fail on my part sorry XDD I didn't indicate stuff clearly and I'm VERY sorry for that. But I have to disagree with the last part of your review ;-; Gomene**

**ANON: HELLO~ Thanks for review like always! I'm so happy you're enjoying it and that you're looking forward to more of it. Also thanks for answering! But do you really ship them? LOLJK you don't have to answer that XDD**

**Nonnie: Thank you you wonderful person and fellow Karmanami shipper for leaving a review. Yeah let's spread that 1-C hate. *showers hate*. Thank you but I love YOU MORE~ *whispers* You're amazing too bby**

**TheRoseShadow21: HELLO ONCE MORE! Thank you for regularly leaving a very well written review! It got me so giddy and I'm so happy you like Mai! Thanks for answering the question too! It should help! THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL OF YOUR KIND WORDS! THEY MEAN A LOT!**

**eastfall: HEYO~! LEMME JUST HUG YOU CUZ YOU HELP ME A LOT WITH THIS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've answered the rest of your review in PM ^w^**

**Resa: Thanks for the review! And I update as fast as I can ;w;**

**kawaiichoconeko: NEKO-CHAN THANKS FOR ANOTHER REVIEW! Thank you for telling me your feelings about the chapter and getting hyped about the story ^W^ Oh? Rio and Sugino?...Let me think about it XD**

**I SHALL NOT DELAY ANY FURTHER (Because Mother's day is up ahead and I need to prepare things at *checks time* 3 am) **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Nagisa would've probably been a legit guy, but I assume I'll ruin everythig because Nagisa is Nagisa but anyway, I DONT OWN IT**

* * *

**Chapter 6: What Did You Say That For? (Part II)**

_It's dark…_

_No one's here but me…I'm all alone…_

_It's dark…It's dark…It's dark…_

_I've been so selfishly happy for the past few days…_

_And this is my punishment…_

"Pres.!"

Seven pairs of alarmed footsteps pattered on the dry soil as each of them made their way to an old tool shed which was currently surrounded by a few members of Kimii's student council and other students that appeared to be witnesses of the dreadful scene that occurred in the destination of those seven.

The air felt humid as the sun was blocked by grey stratus clouds which befitted the atmosphere that strangled everyone at the moment. Though not a lot of people gathered at the location, the noise that rang in everyone's ears was deafening – especially for the troubled club president whose speed was unmatchable to those trailing behind him.

Isura Mai called for the tall 3rd year student with the Council President sash around his arm; he had wood brown hair that hovered above his rectangular-framed glasses, and underneath was a troubled pair of sea green eyes – Kobayashi Tsumugu, student council president

"Isura." He acknowledged her nonchalantly, but you couldn't deny the anxiety that laced his deep voice. To the side stood a frantic pair of girls that Mai assumed to be the witnesses – the club president was dealing with them right now.

And what the vice president saw through the broken doors of the old tool shed was a sight she did not wish to behold; and neither did the other six.

"I'll call the teachers!" before the adrenaline-rushed brunette was able to take a step away from the scene she was stopped by her senior with an "It's already being done, go get the other staff members to get this rubble off immediately.

"YES SIR!" she had to keep herself from hyperventilating before dashing away as fast as she can to call for _anyone_ that could help.

Meanwhile, Karma wasted no time in kicking the rest of the door out of his way and ran to the pile wrecked materials being worked on by a few more students that looked to be witnesses as well. It wasn't at all what he expected – unfortunately, it's worse. What he had hoped to be a small crash of broken bricks and other wooden materials didn't turn out that way at all. He cursed and clenched his teeth – not only did it look challenging to move that entire mountain of junk out of the way, the door couldn't be seen. And she's in there…

"Hey! Are you okay?! Can you hear us?!" shouted one of them to the access they could find to the door – but no response was heard, not even a single stir or shuffling of objects.

"L-Like I said! It wasn't my fault!" By the wall of the old run-down building were three male students – two of which are presumed to be members of the student council as the one trembling underneath their interrogation appeared to be a blond haired boy with the look of a desperate man about to meet his execution.

"You were seen by two sophomores walking in here with the victim, you expect us to believe that?!"

"I-It really isn't! Mimura wanted to scare the girl by locking her in just a while! It was a small prank for laughs! I didn't mean for it to go this fa—"

Before he could continue with whatever his next excuse was, Karma had already grabbed the blond's coconut-head and collided his knee with the environmental chairman's jaw – a loud and audible _crack _reached everyone's ears_;_ apparently, no one noticed when he got there, not even the interrogators – the action was so fast it took moments for everyone to grasp what was happening, and within those few moments of realization, the redhead had aggressively thrown a series of punches and knee strikes with gritted teeth and and eyes that gave out nothing but animosity. He couldn't say anything, rather, he didn't _want_ to say anything and just let anger and action take over.

"Karma-kun!" before the furious Karma could land another hit on the already battered boy, Sugino took the chance to keep his friend from doing any more damage and held his ready-to-punch arm back – but as soon as Karma threw him off, the two interrogators as well as Chiba grabbed hold of the uncontrollable sadist. Even if he was considerably strong in a sense, he still couldn't handle the power of four men holding him down no matter how many times he tried to shake them off of him; it was quite the challenge for his keepers, but it was what it took to keep him from killing the guy.

"Get a hold of yourself!" yelled one of the council members as he struggled to keep him away – but Karma just wouldn't let go of the other's shirt.

"Karma-kun! Stop or you'll end up killing him! It's not worth it. We have to help Okuda first!" Sugino tried getting into his anger-clouded – which thankfully worked.

Karma took one last look at the pathetic student's bruised and bleeding face – his mouth was agape as it dripped with some saliva as his eyes failed to close due to the swelling. "Tch…" he could feel the irritation that caused his brows to twitch overwhelm himself. '_He should consider himself unlucky to be alive after this'_ this menacing thought swam through his mind before he shoved the unconscious boy to the wall with a loud _bang_ and ran over to the debris – Sugino and Chiba exchanged a nod and followed him.

The council members knelt and examined the punching bag from earlier "Damn…he's out cold"

"Let's bring him to the nurse' office."

All the while, the girls were left dumbstruck by what was displayed to them by the cruel reality and could only watch as Karma dealt with the 1-C student mercilessly. Rio had to keep herself from going over to punch the guy along with her club president as the scene before the three girls unfolded, but as of late, something else caused the golden-haired girl to radiate such a rage from her shaking fists. Not a second later, Rio stormed out of the shed – though a bit reluctant to leave Manami behind, she couldn't fight the anger that piled up faster than a tetris game on hard mode.

Yuzuki, having noticed this, recovered from her state of panic and ran after the girl who was already trudging outside, under the grey skies. The otaku stopped by the door of the shed (she too, didn't want to leave her friend behind) "Where are you going?!"

But the blond paid no mind to this and just continued to trudge forward in a fumed rage.

Fuwa only looked on as the blond shrunk in her view, until Rinka raced past her out of nowhere and headed to the direction Rio had vanished – from what the mangaka was able to see from the split second that passed, the orange-haired girl had her teeth clenched visibly with wild green eyes that tried to hide distraught.

"Hayami-san!" again, this call of hers was ignored as Rinka only focused on where the blond had run off to.

"Erm…" after a few more seconds of hesitation, Fuwa , in turn, chased after the other two.

* * *

"Stop!" Rinka had been able to catch up with the blond in almost no time.

By now, Rio was already in the second to the last hallway before the First Year's part of the school, where her target was – the only thing that held her back was the hand the stoic sniper used to to have a firm grip of her arm.

"LET GO!" her bark bounced off the walls of the dark, empty corridor without a care about whoever hears it – things were filling her head up all at once so she had lost the ability to think rationally after the mortifying sight from where she had come from. Rio refused to turn around and let her golden locks hide away whatever menaced expression she had on as she tried to get Rinka's hand out of the way – unfortunately for her, the ginger had a good arm strength and could not be pried away so easily.

"Nakamura-san!" eventually, Fuwa had caught up to them, but it wasn't too rewarding to catch them in the middle of a controversy. All she could do from that point was watch in her uneasiness.

"What's this going to solve?" Rinka's ever serious tone reached her ears and for some reason that only added to how frustrated she was already.

"**LET GO!**" Rio thrashed harder, and Rinka had to admit that made her struggle, but the grip never loosened.

"When you find them, are you going to bully them back?"

A sudden surge of emotions coursed through the blond's body with a pulsing force at her next words "**THIS ISN'T EVEN BULLYING ANYMORE!**" her tone seemed to have given off everything she felt at the time – it was like an explosion; and it had the other two taken aback until Hayami's own emotions blew over.

"Nakamura! Think for a while—!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" Rio thrashed again, and this time Rinka let it go which had the blond stumbling forward – luckily she caught herself with support from the wall.

A few more tense seconds passed with only the sound of the distant students and the slightly heavy pants of the light crowned female.

This time, Rio's tone had calmed down, but it still had hostility floating about in the aura around her "That girl needs to stop thinking she has to be alone." She kept her back turned on her (annoyingly) adult-like club-mate as she worded out her next sentence in a low voice.

"If you're not going to do anything…then just stand and watch like you always do." Without another word, the blond jogged off – leaving Rinka's mouth agape and eyes wide with that last bit of words.

Yuzuki remained silent and stared at the orange-head's hurt expression for a while; and though she was unwilling to just leave her there rudely, she had to somehow agree with the action Rio wants to take – even if it was reckless.

Some justice had to be done.

Once Fuwa disappeared into the next hall, Rinka was left with balled fists and her head turned downwards – her orange hair hovered above the shadow that loomed over the girl's guilt-stricken emerald orbs.

* * *

_I thought I knew how to handle her…_

_I thought I knew how to take care of her…_

_I thought I knew what to do if anything happened to her…_

_But right now, I'm nothing but an insect lost in its own fear…_

_Fear, huh? Been a long time since I felt that._

A few minutes had passed since the three boys began their frantic removal of the wreckage in front of them, but they were already taking sharp intakes of breath as sweat dripped down the sides of their dirt-stained faces. Their shirts were sticky with the sweat on their backs despite whatever cold weather spring brought with it.

Out of all of them, Karma had been the most aggressive with the rubble, which resulted to a number of scars and splinters on his palms – but that didn't matter right now, no matter how much it hurt. He'd been mindlessly throwing off what he could throw off since he finished giving that coconut-headed kid a (not good enough) beating.

As he continued, he couldn't help but take out his anger on the pile of junk – anger at her, for very many reasons, and at himself for not being able to prevent this from happening; for not taking action when his gut told him to, and for not even being able to get her out of that cellar in a nick of time. With this, he began to view himself as weak and ignorant – if he doesn't even have the power to keep a fragile girl like her away from the dangers of the world he's way too familiar with, it's useless to consider him 3-E's strongest.

"Karma-kun!" Sugino's panicked voice reached the redhead's ears.

Before he could realize what's going on, Chiba grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him away from the other materials that just crashed down on the one side they just cleared up. The other two students that helped the three groaned once they found their progress destroyed. Another curse escaped Karma's lips – he's already pissed off, and the fact that they were getting nowhere just pushed it.

Karma was going to try again until Chiba stopped him abruptly by the shoulders "Wait, calm down for a second." Before he could retort at the taller boy's statement, he'd been forced to sit on the floor as Sugino crouched in by him.

"What are you two—"

"We need you to calm down and use your head, Karma-kun. We're not gonna get anywhere if you continue recklessly like this." The spiky-haired boy put a firm hand on his shoulder for some moral support, but this only heightened some of his frustrations to himself as his nails scratched the ground. He didn't remain calm like he usually was during tight situations – the smart and rational him must be laughing right now.

"…It's been pretty silent from under there…" Chiba uttered as he faced the bottom of the pile once more. The others with them including the earlier council members continued, but their pace has somehow gone slower.

Karma's mercury eyes moved down to his badly injured hands after he heard that. There was a multitude of scars and splinters that wouldn't come off easily, but he still balled his fists in resolution after he had finally cooled down.

And he stood up again "Chiba, Get that side of the shelf and move it over here! Sugino, find something among the useless tools there that could probably do something and leave the rest of it to me."

_'Just wait a little longer…'_

* * *

"Tomo-kun hasn't come back yet?"

Mimura Naoki's group wasted away their free time inside the 1-C classroom as did a lot of other students albeit it being club hours.

"I wonder what that idiot's doing; he just has to take a small video. Don't tell me he's flirting with her or anything!" one of the girls stuck a tongue out while the others laughed at how ridiculous and at the same time funny her tease as.

And though this broke out laughter from the egotistical females, once of them didn't even have the slightest bit of joy in what they were talking about.

"Oh, Kimizuki, why so frown-y?" mocked one of them as the short haired girl glared back at this – she'd been in a bad mood ever since she was suddenly attacked by a…she thinks it's a pig, now there was a conspicuous bruise upon her head and she was upset for two reasons: 1.) the nurse refused to give her a bandage on top of it because she said they were 'out of stock at the moment' and 2.) Is because the bruise itself made her unattractive, and that didn't do good for her reputation – when she said that to the nurse, all she did was laugh and gave her a face that said 'I feel so sorry for you.' In a sarcastic manner

"You don't need to ask that." Kimizuki pouted and put a hand over the bruised part of her cheek. _'Hah…I hope Akabane-kun doesn't see this…'_ she completely missed the fact she was rejected right then and there.

"I wonder if that was a bear…or a pig…" wondered one of them with a finger on her chin.

"Who knows."

All types of noise came to a halt once they heard the loud bang of the sliding door. Everyone's eyes were fixated on who had just arrived in such an aggressive fashion.

By the door panted a girl with strawberry blond hair that covered her face as she caught her breath; behind her was another girl with short, dull brown hair with an inscrutable emotion upon her light purple eyes – but if one were to assume, it would be a little like a passive loathing.

"Where's Mimura Naoki?" the girl said coldly, revealing blue eyes that carried nothing pleasant in them. No one replied for a matter of moments, but to everyone else' surprise (and Mimura's annoyance) a student pointed to where she was like it was the most normal situation ever.

Bright blue orbs met with dull ones, and that was when the tension in the room built up. The two were caught in a ferocious glaring contest for a while, and no one else in the room had enough courage to interrupt it.

"Hey, Naocchi…" said one of the girls in the group with a disgusted tone which implied she wanted her leader to do something about the trouble this girl brought with her. Mimura raised a hand at her to shut her up – as if to say 'I'll handle this.'

The smug female stepped forward and placed a hand on her hip "I didn't ask for an entertainment number. What's this all of a sudden?"

It took all of Rio's patience and self-control to keep her from removing that smile on her face literally then and there; but she had to go about with this slowly – she wanted to appease her sadistic tongue after all.

"Oh, it's not really anything~" her tone had become playfully sarcastic as her earlier glare formed into a bright and innocent-like smile "But, you know, word has it someone got trapped in a dark storm cellar but it's no biggy~ I was just curious as to who could be the one responsible…" by this time, the two combat club members had fully entered the room. "I'm pretty sure you know…"The words came out coldly, which gave them just a small taste of how much animosity she held towards them as the look in her eye shifted from friendly to the complete opposite.

The group behind Mimura began to whisper amongst themselves. Things like 'Tomo-kun messed up?!' 'She's trapped? We're dead!' and etcetera were of discussion with them – however Mimura remained calm and kept her face blank as the two of them engaged into a glare-off once more.

"Leave us, all of you. Now." Mimura had her tone directed at the rest of the students within the room. Almost immediately, a flurry of rude remarks and complaints came about – but Rio saw where she was going with this and decided to help out; she wanted to deal with this only with her, after all

Without another moment's hesitation, the golden-haired girl kicked down a desk with so much force the other ones flew along with it and landed with a loud mix of clangs and crashes as some of the parts fell apart way to near a group of people for comfort. That was when the students got the message: they weren't kidding around.

"T-This is bad news!"

"Let's— Let's get out of here!"

The students stricken with fear scurried about and left the room, all the others that just didn't want to disturb them or didn't want to be disturbed left them to whatever those two had to settle.

And the room was silent once more, only filled with the uncertainty that came from the Mimura group and the growling beast that lived in the two assassins as it waited for its chance to go in for the kill.

"Aw, seems we've been found out. So, now that you know it's us, what are you going to do?" Mimura started, that smug look on her face returned, but this time it was more careful and it somehow gave a sense of hostility.

"First of all~ I'd like to congratulate you for doing a good job at ruining someone's life. Next of course I'll start with…hmm…" the sarcastic tone died once again at her last word "Why?"

Kimizuki glanced at Rio hatefully, but upon realization that she had also looked her way the same time she glanced, the raven haired girl averted her eyes.

This irked Mimura, the attitude the blond presented before her is one of the things she finds most annoying – especially when they hit places too close for comfort – but egotistical as she was, she mimicked the same type of behavior, but it was so much brattier – the one in front of her _has_ pissed her off after all. "I appreciate the thought of being awarded for such a thing, but you know, it's quite normal for pests like her to get trapped in cages so easily. I mean, it gets _annoying_ whenever a mouse can do nothing but squeal for help and expect it to come because it's too weak to do anything on its own?" There was much more aggression in her next sentence, as if it was her way of letting out some irritation as she grabbed on to a nearby desk firmly "Doesn't it piss you off when people like that just pop-up and go google-y eyed and eventually expect someone to come and fix all their problems? I absolutely hate a girl that plays an act to get people to do whatever they want."

Rio smirked.

_Bingo_

"Oh, I see. So you were so in love with Karma-kun you decided to take your 'threat' out of the picture." She was back to smiling, but it wasn't innocent-like anymore – it's the kind of sadistic smile you have when you catch someone red-handed.

At this, Mimura's face had shifted to a mix of shock and anger – her mouth was left agape. The girls behind her carried out the almost the same expression, though some others were on the verge of tears as the rest looked more guilty rather than mad about being found out.

And all the while, Rio continued to taunt them "Wonderful isn't it? Hopeless one-sided love. How cute~"

"Hmm" Yuzuki's brows rose as she hummed in understanding as if to say 'Ooohh…' She had to applaud her for what she'd been able to do. Rio had meant to give off that kind of attitude to irk her in the first place – that way she can get them to spill their reasons why. And even if it may not be a direct answer, they knew they were smart enough to get the cat out of a bag.

Women's intuition is a powerful thing, after all.

"You know~ in my opinion, over-desperate girls like you folk are much more annoying than your so-called 'weak' that use people to get what they want. But since you're both of that, you deserve a gold medal!" she was clearly happy with the results of her antics – oh the joy of seeing someone you loathe twitch in irritation with nothing else to say because of the greatest thing ever: Being right.

By now, Mimura began to match up with her blond opponent's level of indignation – the smug face had completely disappeared as she didn't even try to hide how much she hated the girl in front of her right now.

"Aw, don't be upset. Kids these days are so spoiled though; it's really tempting to give them a nice spanking once in a while." Rio pushed it even more this time – she wanted them to get hurt, to get worked up and be left speechless.

"What do you want?" finally, the brunette broke – this was a sign for the female trickster to drop all the games and face her seriously. She's glad about one thing, she didn't need to hide too much of her animosity to the obnoxious girl anymore.

"What you've done is unforgivable, but since I like to consider myself better than you – which I really am – I won't stoop down to your pathetic level. But I'll say it now, I'm a woman of my word…" Rio's bright blue eyes glinted with murderous intent against the shadow effect her hair had over her eyes.

"If you so much as come near her one more time, I'll make you beg on your knees for me to spare your lives." Her voice had caused chills to unexpectedly go up the spines of Naoki's group; heck, Yuzuki felt a little threatened by it, but remained calm and kept her face straight.

Another silence. Rio was pleased, looks like she'd won them over.

That was until Mimura twitched and balled her fists before she spoke once more.

"I have a better idea." This was something she did not expect – she was sure a tactic like that would work on these kinds of girls, but it wasn't too long before Rio realized her mistake, and that was to consider them 100% stereotypical and easy to break with a few threats. All she could do now was grit her teeth at whatever this girl had to say as the anger started to grow increasingly once again.

"Why not I'll leave her alone _completely_? I'll treat her like she didn't exist and stay nowhere near her for as long as we live. Sound good?" the brunette had her playful tone back, but this time it was laced with ferocity and the willpower to bring down her opponent with her – it was all over her face too, what with the madwoman's smile that reached ear to ear, it already looked sketchy.

"What's the catch?"

"Catch? There's no catch. I'll do that, really, I will. You just have to beat me in my game." She snapped her fingers, and as if the ones behind her were her personal servants, two girls did the honor of bringing out something from Mimura's bag with smirks on their faces.

By this time Rio had begun to feel uneasy, whatever this game was, it didn't look like an easy win for her, but she was brought back to reality soon after she noticed a wooden kendo sword pointed at her threateningly – and she got the message.

"Heh? That's a priceless face! You didn't know?" one of the snobbish girls giggled wickedly "Mimura Naoki is the kendo pride and glory of MamoruYama middle school. Let's see you try to sass your way out of this one." This got into the nerves of almost everyone in the room – Kimizuki had to prod her to shut her up, but at least that way, Nakamura knows what she's up against. And in all honesty, the short-haired girl would also like to see what this blond's distressed expression.

_'This is bad…'_ the blond gulped when she saw how serious she was about this; so it's resulted to this kind of wager…

"Oh, you look troubled." It was Mimura's turn to taunt the girl as she watched her glare once more. "If you don't have a weapon, I'll consider it forfeit and we can forget this ever happened."

"You…"

After seeing the tight situation her club-mate was sucked into, Yuzuki thought quickly – all this will be for naught with this kind of cheap bet. Her eyes moved around the room frantically before they befell on the clutter of a desk's broken pieces.

"Nakamura-san!" Rio glanced to her companion and found her holding the leg piece of the desk she broke just a while ago and tossed it to her. It didn't take a moment for the golden-crowned girl to understand what Yuzuki wanted her to do and nodded – it wasn't the best weapon, what's more is she barely thinks it's got a chance at taking down that sturdy wooden sword. But right now, it's the best she's got.

Rio twirled the desk leg around her hand and pointed it to her opponent as an indication that it was game on. But of course, she was sharp enough to notice that something was off – she wanted one more thing "If there's something else, say it."

"Oh, I'm glad you asked." She imitated the happy smiling face Nakamura used on her "Of course if there's something being bet, I'll have to give my side of it too. So if you lose…" and the madwoman's smile came back as fast as the happy smiling one did "She'll have to do _whatever_ I want her to do until graduation."

Rio's eyes narrowed as her teeth clenched even more. Even though her anger was what dominated her entire aura right now, it didn't overpower the unsteady beats of her heart due to the nervousness and weight of the bet on her.

Manami's entire high school life – no, her life as we know it, is on the line.

Fuwa gasped "Nakamura-san! Are you really—"

"Quiet, Fuwa-san." Yuzuki's mouth was zipped, but judging by the resolve in her voice, she can't stop her, she can only trust she knows what she's doing – which she knows she does. Rio took a moment to face her foe one more time, and with reluctance she agreed. "Understood. But I'll add one more thing to my side as well since I don't really see it as fair."

"Go ahead." Mimura answered nonchalantly, and the golden assassin smirked "If I manage to make you land on your sorry little ass, you, and every other girl behind you over there, won't come near Karma-kun ever again."

Just then a series of panicked noises and cries came from everyone's horrified faces "Naocchi!" it was a desperate cry by the one that rubbed Naoki's kendo reputation in the blond's face – and Rio couldn't help but feel proud of herself.

Mimura's eye twitched "You make me want to kill you even more now…"

"Kill me? That's funny coming from you." Rio could sense Fuwa's fretfulness from behind her as she readied herself for what was to come "Fuwa-san, I know the stakes. But…I'll get this over with faster than you can say 'Karasuma-sensei taught me well'" she had an expression that presented how badly she tried to overpower her nervousness with a strong heart and a determined spirit.

Yuzuki felt a little touched by this and nodded as if to say 'I'll leave the rest to you.'

Not another second had been wasted after that as the two charged at one another.

* * *

_I wonder how it got to this…_

_I wonder how I ended up lost in the dark like this…_

_Maybe it's because…I've been very spoiled lately. _

An exhausted, worn out girl had her knees tucked in the middle of a dark, dusty cellar with no one inside but her – where nothing can distract her from her overflowing thoughts as she just sat there; unmoving, and only quietly breathing.

_It's because I've been too happy lately…_

In her mind flashed a picture of her regular club meetings with her most treasured friends. They're smiling faces, the ridiculous antics, the kindness they give her…her beloved Class E…whom treat her as an equal with others. Just being treated equally was enough to make the bespectacled girl brim with joy.

_This is my punishment…for not being strong enough…_

The happy image soon faded away like sand in the wind as it was replaced with the thought of being in a dull, monochromatic classroom as she would be towered by terrifying silhouettes that would grin viciously at her; others would sneer at her and only give her the message that she wasn't good enough, that she was going to be forgotten anyway, so she should just sit tight there in the dark where no one can find her…

And where she can bother no one.

_I wonder if this is a sign…that I'm going to be all alone…_

The memory of a dark-haired woman with a warm, welcoming smile had her arms spread out in a bright, sunny, summer day as it told a small Manami to come over into her tender loving arms after getting lost. And as if her mind wanted to play tricks with her, the second small Manami reached her, the woman withered away with the tree leaves that flew past as if she had been taken away along with summer.

_Eventually…_

Next came an empty hospital room where no sunlight reflected against the curtain-blocked windows. The single bed that stationed itself in the exact center of the room had ruffled sheets lied down carelessly as an empty IV drip stood next to it.

_'I'm sorry, Manami-chan.'_

The girl's eyes had become half-lidded and pained at these memories – though they were of a distant time, it didn't take away the damage it's done to her heart.

_Oh well…_

And she imagined herself all alone again, in the rain on the way home as the sounds of gushing water droplets hitting her umbrella would deafen her.

_…It was fun while it lasted…_

Something salty and wet dripped from the side of her cheek.

Followed by another one

And another one

_'…stop looking down and look up for once, hm?'_

The silence that once was had been broken by the silent weeping of a battered heart. The braided girl's shoulders jerked up each time a sob would come out – her mouth quivered as her eyes had begun to create rivers on her cheeks as they flowed endlessly; like a waterfall.

_I really don't want to be alone anymore…_

Another vision came up – it was the Kunugigaoka middle school gates, and standing behind it was Manami, who only watched everyone else leave with their sights set on their futures

_I don't want to be left behind…!_

Just then, she heard a ruckus come from the door above her

* * *

"Chiba! Grab that other side right there!"

"Got it!"

The number of people who volunteered to help had increased – now, the combat club had the council president and the rest of its members as well as the other witnesses; all of which had sweaty faces and dirt-stained skin. By now, most of the wreckage had been taken care of; all that was left were a few more and the shelf itself – which was currently being given the collected effort of all students who were in the room. But it had been minutes since they have started – even with the combined effort of some of the strongest in campus, the old shelf was still too much for a bunch of kids like them to handle.

The redhead, who had led the group entirely, struggled to get that big piece of furniture out of the way with all the remaining strength he can muster. His teeth were clenched harder than before, his eyebrows were furrowed due to the intense struggle, and if this went on, his wounded hands would probably give out.

"Hey! You! Are you even trying?!" yelled the president at one of his council members as a form of harsh motivational screaming.

"I'm giving it my all pres!" he tried to say against his grit teeth.

"Damn it! Isura's not back with the staff yet?!"

"They're here now, stand aside." A deep, womanly voice came from the tool shed's entrance,

"Mi-Mikagura-sensei?!" exclaimed Sugino once he had a look at the scene. In her hand was a first aid kit, and along with her came the urgent bustles of a few of the school's staff members. Some of which carried axes and other materials to use for getting the pile of out the way.

"Yuma-sensei!" exclaimed another student as the old teacher showed himself after all the others came in. The elder teacher had his usual frowned face on, but his eyes were more serious than usual (if that was even possible).

"What are you all still doing under that thing? Get out of the way you goddamn kids." He ordered firmly as the staff members would hold the shelf and let the students pass through.

As if on cue, Karma's hands gave out the very moment Yuma-sensei said that – he didn't like it, but if he wants to have the ability to write and punch people longer, he'd have to let go.

After he got himself out of the way, Karma watched as the adults cleared away the debris faster than what they could have done what with their tools and such.

"Sugino-kun! What on earth happened here?!" their supervising teacher, Mikagura-sensei demanded for answers from the exhausted spiky-haired kid – and from there he explained the situation.

Karma paid no mind to anything else at the moment, because before him one of the doors finally revealed itself. Without thinking, the redheaded boy dashed towards them.

She'll get out of there.

"One! Two! Go!" after the adults had loosened the rusty nails from the door's side, they both lifted the door with just as much struggle the kids did with the shelf – the door was heavy, let's give them that.

But at long last, it was opened. From what Karma could see from where he was, it truly was dark, but all the more reason for him to go to her and be the one to personally bring her out.

"Okuda-san!" the sudden shout from Karma gained him the attention of the rest of the students and teachers.

She's out.

What Karma saw when he looked from the entrance was the braided girl with her knees tucked in. Her usually neat hair was a mess and her face was moist from both tears and sweat – she looked exhausted, but at the same time, her face somehow made it seem like she just saw a miracle happen once purple orbs he already missed met with his strong –willed, serious mercury.

He didn't say anything else as he extended his hand into the cellar with a face saying 'you better grab on.'

Slowly, Manami reached out, but later on her wrist was grabbed by Karma once it had gotten close enough as her elbows were supported by the other adults in the scene. "Alright, one, two, up!" and the three of them lifted her up for it seemed she had a hard time moving her legs – must be due to the trauma.

Once her entire body had been brought out of the cramped cellar, it ended up with her falling into Karma – fortunately, he caught her just in time for the both of them to fall on the floor as he supported their weight by placing a hand on the ground behind him. He was seated on the ground as he panted heavily – chest heaving up and down with Manami's hands and head above it.

He wasn't sure of what to say at the moment, but he did know that complete and utter relief had washed over him when she looked up at his exhausted, dirt-stained face once more with fearful purple.

It wasn't long after their eyes met yet again when she started to tremble. Her head fell into his chest as he could feel her frail hands clutch his shirt. She didn't say anything – rather, she couldn't bring herself to say anything; and to somehow reassure her without exchanging words, he put his damaged hand behind her head.

It was when she silently wept on him his mind had finally started to clear up.

_It was when I looked at his eyes, I knew I wasn't in the dark anymore..._

* * *

"This brought quite the disaster…" said the man who looked to be the head of the school staff in charge of this to the elderly teacher that had his reminiscent eye on the broken storm cellar and the mess all around it.

"It's gone a long way hasn't it…guess it's time to let it die." the old man remarked as he walked away. By the wall of the shed, the victim and his student, Okuda Manami was being treated by Mikagura-sensei, and not too far was the red-haired kid that never attended his classes leaned back on the wooden wall as another pair of dark-haired boys sat by him. To another side was another group of students that looked to be the council as they treated the other's wounds from all that digging.

_'The kids get more extreme as the years go by…'_

Just right after the elderly teacher had made his exit, another student came running to the tool shed for their president's aid.

"Pres!" he yelled into the shed, and once more the President's relief had died and all positive feelings that filled the room for such a short time were swept away by the following sentence.

"There's a fight going on in 1-C! Students were identified to be Nakamura Rio and Mimura Naoki!"

"Wha—Eh! MANAMI!"

Manami already started running at the very mention of those names.

* * *

**... I can't help but feel like this chapter was very rushed..**

**OH GAWD IT'S RUSHED.**

**GOMENE! Next chapter's gonna be end arc!**

**Hope you somehow enjoyed this chapter in your own way...I hope ;w;**

**Well anyway, LEAVE A REVIEW PLEASE!**

**I apologize now if Karma or any other character was OOC. And I can't deny the fact it's rushed in the end TT-TT**

**But furthermore I'd like to thank you for reading this and 'til next time!**

**Love, TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	7. Chapter 7

**HEY YA'LL! This chapter came in pretty late I guess. Damn it took me about 3 days XD**

**This one has to be the longest chapter of this story I've written so far so I ask for your forgiveness now if it displeases you QwQ**

**Now I've noticed how some of you are concerned with my stress and how it sounded as if I was tired while writing last chapter. Well, to be fully honest I wasn't stressed at all XD At the time, I just had to wait for my mom to sleep to spring up a surprise for her when she wakes up, knowing I'd pull an all-nighter. And another reason to add up to that was because I was...it involves nature.**

**ANYWAY! YAY! FINALLY END OF ARC! Now I'll admit that some portions of this chapter are half-assed due to a certain problem I encountered yesterday with an inconsistent switching of devices since I went to places. And another reason was because it was hot XD**

**OKAY! THE CHAPTER ITSELF IS ALREADY LONG SO I'LL GET TO THE REVIEW ANSWERS!:**

**KisaragiMaru: Thanks for a review again man! And you'll be able to see who goes down if you read! Mwahaha your evil thoughts match mine but you'll have to find out what really happens after reading~**

**Akikarui: Thanks! Fortunately, I made her VERY happy! (*wink* morecomputertime*wink*)**

**animeandmangafangirl: Heyo~! Well, Sugino is quite obvious with his infatuation with Kanzaki ^3^ Thanks! I'm glad you really liked it and I'm happy I made you fangirl!**

**kawaiichoconeko: Neko-chan! Thank you so much I'm touched ;w; Continue that Karmanami ABC thing! I think it's REALLY cute! Thanks and I'll make it as Karmanami as possible!**

**CelestialGoddess: (oh wow long) Hey! It's fine! I'm actually quite glad to see you again with a review! And thanks for pointing out that there were errors in my writing! That just means I can improve more! Thank you for spporting me with those words of reassurance Q-Q They help a lot really! They keep me writing all the time so I end up with chapters like these. And yeah I guess Karma could be protective of Okuda because of how she is. I mean if you look at it closely, Karma doens't actually treat her as an object of entertainment like most people. He's nicer to her compared to the others in my opinion, and reasons for that is because she's in some way different with others. And to lose someone like that would probably be...ouch? Yeah but that's just what I think XDDD You don't have to listen to me lol. Thanks and Im lovin you back too 33**

**kuroneko051: Thank you for the long review again kuro-chan~! ^W^ Lol if I made Karma kill him then that would be bad ;w; (even though I wanted to kill him too but don't worry violence is kept to a minimum[minimum means GTA level LOLJK])Catch Rio vs Mimura down there~!**

**Akabane-san: Thanks for another review! Ahaha yeah I'm filipino and an amateur writer at 15 but I'm doing my best Q-Q No No don't be sorry lol XD It's fine!**

**TheRoseShadow21: Hey there! Love the stories you write man! Keep writing Karmanami I really like your ideas~! ^3^. Thanks for reassuring me concerning OOC-ness! And thank you for your lovely compliments! About that tired thing I'm totally fine XD Hope you enjoy this next one!**

**eastfall: Yo Man! Thanks for that long review again! I look forward to your detailed reviews all the time because that way it kinda gives me a hint on what I should do next with the future chapters! I tried to get Chiba into it more since he' so stoic and Rinka's getting more screen time even if she's more stoic but eh. I try. I do have to agree that Rio was a bit insensitive to bet on Manami's life, but she went there for a reason and her mind was boggled so...eh XD hope you like this next installment!**

**Resa: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked that part and the story too!**

**blank9395: Thank you! I'm touched you really like this story and compliment on my improvements as a writer! It means so much!**

**Harlett: Thanks! And no I'm not tired lol! I'm just in...in the red X"DYeah sorry about rushing things in the end Q-Q. And yes Nagisa will make his appearance but I'm afraid he's just a supporting character unless I change my mind...**

**I12BFree: Thanks! And find out down there OwO)**

**AceClover: (wow long) Like everyone, thank you very much for that review! And for taking the time to make it long and express all your opinions! It helps a lot with my writing so I'm glad! Well, Okuda is really fragile so eh. They get frustrating at times too X'3 And yes I get your point! Few grammatical errors but I get you man!**

**natsuki DDS: Eyo~ Thanks for that review and yeah well this story did have some inspiration from that wonderful show so I'm sorry if it became too much like it X""D**

**K. LET'S NOT DRAG THIS OUT!**

**DISCLAIMER: The pair I'm writing for would've been together already in the manga if I owned that beautiful thing ;w;**

* * *

**Chapter 7: What Did You Say That For? (END OF ARC)**

_'…Stop looking down and look up for once, hm?'_

Light slowly seeped into an empty, pitch black room as the piece of wood above a braided girl in distress had been lifted up – bit by bit, the disarray of voices that came from a multitude of people crept into her ears. And she couldn't believe it for a while; it was almost too good to be true…to be saved. She had almost lost all hope as she could have allowed herself to drown in the darkness all around her – inside and out.

But she didn't.

"Okuda-san!"

Because someone like him was waiting for her to come out of the box she had gotten herself into – he was waiting for her to look up; both literally and figuratively. And when she did, she was met with pale, sharp eyes far from a dark color, and they looked back at her fretful purple orbs with an intensity that didn't take no for an answer when she read his expression saying

_'You better grab on.'_

Realization hit her, and her fears of being alone or being left behind died away in that very moment. If she had no courage to reach out to the hand already being given to her, she really will end up not moving from her spot – she really will get left behind, forgotten and eventually fall into her own pool of loneliness.

The reaction was slow – probably because she'd noticed his severely injured palm and immediately felt guilty. He looked really angry too, she'd caused him a lot of trouble because of her gullible and naïve nature.

_Karma-kun's hand always reaches for me…even when it's hurt…_

It's already right in front of her, and all she had to do was gather the courage to take it.

_I can't…let this keep happening._

It wasn't just some regular rescue, but it was also a lesson. She can't afford to continue being the one reached out to all the time – if she's so scared of ending up in a lifetime of solitude, she'd have to do something about it.

And extend her own hand instead of reach for another's. She'd done that before – how many more times does she have to teach herself this? It can't just be in front of 3-E, or Karma – the one she owed the most.

She had to pass through this boundary she put before herself.

But for now, after being in the dark so long, one couldn't really help oneself from being washed over with relief after such a traumatizing experience. So for now, she'll use this time to let it all out – even if it was another selfish act, she couldn't help herself as she trembled under the touch of someone she felt guilty about using as a source of comfort.

All it took was a glance at those already nostalgic orbs of his to tell her that she was, at long last, back in the world.

* * *

"Manami, I'll need you to relax for now and take in some oxygen. Just take slow breaths and…" Mikagura-sensei instructed the quiet girl (she'd been quiet for a while now) who was seated by the wall with tired eyes – well, she had been a through a lot in one day. The older chemist was currently giving her some tips to recover from trauma to decrease whatever numbness she still felt around her body. But as Mikagura-sensei would teach her, Manami would catch herself taking a good look at her wrist and remembered how rough the hand that went around it felt, and in those moments she'd take a glance at the redhead that leaned against the same wall not too far away from her.

He had a blank expression, but his eyes were trained on the ground as if it were the most interesting thing at the moment – he was in deep thought from the looks of it.

Her eyes fell downcast – she made him worry, and that was the one thing she wanted to avoid with this problem of hers. Now she even got other council members, Sugino, Chiba and even her teachers into her mess.

Her palms went to her face.

_I'm sorry…_

But despite how guilty she felt, she couldn't shake away a strange feeling that formed in her chest – it was something she never usually had; in fact, this may be one of the _extremely_ few times she'd felt this way…but what was it again? She couldn't quite decipher it.

Karma on the other hand, didn't want to talk to her for a while – one reason is because, well, she was recovering, but another is because of the emotions that overwhelmed him at the time, and he was quite afraid of showing too much of it in front of her while it was all still fresh – he needed to regain his composure before he could actually have a decent conversation with her; and there's also the fact that there were lots of other people in the room.

He needed her alone.

"Pres.!" Another student came yelling into the tool shed by the door. His breathing was heavy – from a long run, perhaps – as he held on to the door as sweat beaded from his head. He didn't look like he came here just to congratulate everyone with their hard work.

On the other side of the shed stood Kobayashi Tsumugu with his previous expression of relief destroyed once his title had been called in a very urgent manner; something's going on again, and this time it could be just as bad as – maybe even _worse_ than what had just ended.

Everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on the newcomer – all waiting in suspense for whatever it is that had come up, but at the same time most of them didn't really want to find out. Manami, who had just begun to regain her composure, sharply turned – a lazed expression still on her face, but her ears were open.

The boy gulped "There's a fight going on in 1-C! Students were identified to be Nakamura Rio and Mimura Naoki!"

At this, Manami's tired eyes snapped open. Her hands shuddered for a few moments until they balled into fists as everyone else in the room had their own surprised responses. Something about what that boy reported caused a powerful surge of electricity explode inside the shy girl – it was so overwhelming, it got her to stand on her feet in no time at all. She didn't know why, but once the words registered in her mind, impulse and adrenaline rush took over. What she felt at the time was unknown to her, but she did know one thing

_I've had it_

Before anyone was able to react, Manami had already dashed past the boy and ran as fast as her feet could take her to where her classroom was. Not even Mikagura-sensei, who was crouched just right in front of her was able to realize in time that her patient had run off. "Wha—Eh! MANAMI!"

It was only when the orange haired teacher called out her name when everyone noticed what had occurred. Not a second after realizing it, Karma removed himself from the wall and chased after her; he wasn't going to just let her go off like that after all this.

"Karma-kun!" Sugino called out, but the redhead was already out – and the baseball boy doubted he could've stopped him either way.

This inevitably resulted to the other combat club members to rise from their resting positions to follow after albeit how tired they already were; their friends were in trouble after all.

* * *

The ringing sounds of metal against wood bounced off the walls of the 1-C classroom along with the squeaks of shoes against the white-tiled floor. Occasionally, there would also be an additional noise from the other desks and furniture that were in the way of this fight between two skilled melee weapon-wielders as well as their sharp breaths and the voiced out struggling.

The exchange of swings at such a fast and evasive fashion led to the flying of sweat at each dodge and attack. Both participants had their chests heaving up and down as their faces were soaking wet with salty substance; bruises covered parts of their faces and arms from the blows they threw at each other

Nakamura Rio may have been the best at knife work back in 3-E, but the girl in front of her was too much even with her amazing knife skills. _'Damn it…she's good. That's a kendo veteran for you…but…'_

Rio slid back away from Mimura after a hit from her had been deflected with both hands. Both were evidently exhausted at this point for Mimura also backed away from her to catch some breaths. _'She's a hard one…not only can she easily evade my attacks but her arm strength is good too…but…'_

As if on cue, they rammed into each other once again with much more force compared to other times as both seemed to have had the same thought

_'I can't lose!'_

Outside the window and by the doors of the classroom, students appeared to have gathered at the scene with troubled expressions – Club had been interrupted that day because of this ordeal of theirs. And on the sidelines stood Fuwa as she silently cheered for her blond friend with pursed lips and determined pinkish orbs. Though she wasn't the one in the middle of a battle, she soon felt herself begin to sweat due to the suspense and weight this battle had over both sides.

"Look at the mess that Okuda's made!" this got the mangaka's attention and made her bite her tongue in irritation – the Naoki group was at it again with their snide remarks and absolutely distasteful personalities.

"This only makes things worse! If we get suspended because of the mess she's made I'm gonna make her pay!" said an extra bratty one with a scornful look in her eye.

"Honestly, she should've remained unnoticed by everyone else instead of getting in everyone's way with that act of hers—"

"All of you shut up!" Yuzuki had had it with their unnerving attitudes – she had to snap at them. After all, no one has the right to talk about her that way; _especially_ in front of anyone in the club – or 3-E for that matter.

This bark of hers reached the ears of Naoki's group and Yuzuki was met with their snobbish faces "Tch, it's Otaku transfer student." Insulted one of them with clear annoyance in her eyes as she towered over her with that ego of hers.

Before the dull brown-crowned girl knew it, she'd been cornered by them – their shadows loomed over threateningly with that 'superiority' of theirs; despite this, Yuzuki showed no trace of fear or had any desire to be considered lower than these types of people. "That's some guts you have there, for an otaku that is. Why should we listen to the likes of you?"

That tore everything apart – Fuwa was now fuming with absolute rage at these sad excuses for people. Not only are they _really_ annoying, but they go to points where they shouldn't touch; and for Yuzuki, that was her otaku life.

"You—" before she had been able to bite back at them with all her might, an arm had been used to separate her from them.

"Stop." Rinka had her hand on the wall where they cornered her club-mate. Her ever so stoic demeanor was present as always, but something about it seemed more ill-boding than the aura she usually gave out. This action of hers had resulted to Naoki's group backing away from her after they had been cut.

"H-Hayami-san…!" Yuzuki said with astonishment – she knew sooner or later Rinka would come up, but after Rio and herself had left her there she had her second thoughts. But all in all, it was quite the surprise to see her arrive now.

"Oi, don't get in the wa—" the one who claimed to make the chemistry-geek pay after the chaos tried to speak but was cut off in no time at all.

"The one in the way isn't me. You had an agreement and that's that. Don't bring anymore turmoil outside of it and let the representatives decide. So for now…" the sniper closed her eyes for a brief second, but didn't wait any longer than that to give them a bone-chilling glare from her emerald eyes that seemed to glow menacingly from under the shadow of her orange bangs. "_The only right you have is to sit by and watch."_

This caused some of the girls to click their tongues and glare hatefully at her – but it sure did the trick and shut them all up, so sooner or later they backed away from the two.

Yuzuki's anger dissipated afterwards and sighed to cool her head off a little. Her eyes traveled to the heated battle going on in front of her as she took into account what was happening – Rio was getting weaker and slower. The two girls seemed equal when it came to skill, but in terms of stamina, since Mimura had the advantage of having a longer and much durable weapon it appeared to be Rio with her foot by the line.

"Fuwa-san." Fuwa was about to cheer for the blond, until of course she'd been stopped by her orange-headed savior. What the mangaka wannabe noticed from her face was how it brooded over her next sentence.

"…The same goes for us."

* * *

"I-it looks like the fight's escalated somehow…"

"Is no one going to stop them?"

"If anyone of us tried, it's unmistakably going to make things worse…"

Whispers of this sort reached the ears of a particular brunette standing outside of a rowdy classroom among a rather large crowd of students; some of which had their phones on to catch a video while others kept their stares fixed on the two as if it were a world-famous boxing league championship. Her usual droopy, blue eyes were clouded with concern as her mouth had formed into a thin line; and all because of the suspense-filled scene going on before her.

Isura Mai didn't ever wish to come across something like this, but after she had called the staff members to come to her president's aid, this had to catch her eye. Because of this, she had not made another appearance in that tool shed – though she wanted to be there when her bespectacled junior came out, another one was in trouble; albeit thinking this, she found herself unable to do anything.

_'Nakamura-san…'_

But it wasn't her responsibility to stop this – no matter how badly she wanted to.

Then from behind her, a commotion seemed to have abruptly started as Mai would hear a few students being pushed about. Turning her head to see what on earth had caused it, she was caught slightly by surprise when she took into account a few characteristics from the one who padded up the stairs in a tizzy and squeezed herself through the crowd. Twin braids that needed some fixing bounced around as small shoulders were tensed up – the shine in the girl's glasses blocked anyone from reading whatever expression was upon those eyes.

Behind her tailed an equally vexed group of students with a redhead going faster than the other two – but that was until he abruptly halted in the middle of the stairs. Sugino almost stumbled back from the suddenness of his action "K-Karma-kun…?!"

Karma didn't respond for a few seconds and kept his back turned on the two of them – his fists never loosened up since he'd run out of the shed for his troublesome friend, and they weren't about to now.

"I don't want to leave her with this…but right now I'm more pissed at someone else." He said this in a low, but solid voice – it seemed that he couldn't keep this agenda of his on stand-by any longer, and it had to be now; otherwise he'd probably create some chaos later on. He clicked his tongue and faced his two companions with narrowed eyes as he stepped down the stairs – which left the other two with bewilderment all over their features.

"What the—Karma-ku—"

"Sugino." Chiba prevented him from finishing his call as he held his arm back and pointed to the crowd upstairs. "Look."

Once the spiky-haired boy turned around, he spotted Okuda forcing herself into the crowd. Then his eyes moved to what little he can see from the classroom's window from his location on the stairs – though it may be blocked by a crowd of people, he didn't miss the flying strands of blond and auburn hair that moved rapidly.

"Okuda-san…" Mai muttered once the girl had come to her spot deep within the crowd – by the window of the 1-C classroom – with slightly heavy breathing. Once she had freed herself from the clutter of people, Manami watched what was happening from the window with shrunken violet eyes that came with a small sound to express her shock.

Mai took this as an opportunity to let her get things done "Nakamura-san's in there…fighting for you."

The small girl bit her lower lip and furrowed her brows as her eyes looked greatly pained; but a split second after that, as if she had downed a large bottle of emotions, her body acted on its own and she stepped inside the room

* * *

_The school's infirmary was quiet. The rays of sunshine that came from the orange-ish sky passed through the window and gave the room a bright, natural light that one would deem pretty as well as consider it to be a comforting atmosphere. The only sounds that emitted from such a cozy-looking room was the soft flapping of papers by a small electric fan that oscillated and gave everyone in the room a nice, gentle wind._

_There were barely any people inside; all there was was a badly beaten freshmen on the nearest bed, and on the table located to the side of the rather noiseless room was the school's nurse rested on a rolling chair– her narrow, adult-like eyes had themselves occupied by a clinical record that belonged to 'Fujimura Tomo' as her left hand would take down a few significant things on a medical pad. _

_Directly behind her were the opened double-doors of Kimii infirmary – and by it, a boy with red locks not darker than the nurse' glowered at her._

_Inari kept her back turned despite knowing he was there, and that he wasn't in a very good mood. She had a hunch she knew what he wanted, but chose to remain silent and let him voice out what it is he came here for._

_"Why didn't you do anything?" he started. The tone he presented her with wasn't loud or aggressive, but it was firm and it demanded answers from the older woman. He knows that she's aware of what's been happening; she had to – and that's what irked him about the entire thing._

_"You beat him up pretty bad. I'm surprised he's not dead." She dragged it out for a while, but judging from the silence he was in no joking mood – she took it as if he was saying 'answer the damn question.' _

_Inari let out a sigh and rotated her chair to have her arm leaned against the table in a lax fashion – she didn't face him, however; there was no particular reason why she refused to look at him, she just didn't want to – but somehow she knew that if she even spared a glance at him, she'd only feel the emotions she'd been seriously holding back for a while now. It was tough, but if she trusted she knew what was best for the small girl, she had to._

_"She wanted to do this on her own, I'm just letting her. Simple as that." She said the next set of words before he could voice out whatever reply he had – since she's sure it'd be something like 'look where that got her' or some sort._

_"In any case, what's gotten you so worked up about it? You know as well as I do how flawed she is; why not give her the chance? Don't try to fool me with petty reasons like 'it's the right thing' or 'because she's my friend'. There's another reason to it, isn't there? I want an honest answer from you." This had Karma quite taken aback – what she was asking for, was something he wasn't quite sure of. Why indeed? But that's when the image of a sullen Okuda-san sitting alone on a secluded bench with grey skies above her came up. She had her head down and her shoulders tensed with a frown on her face – and behind those shine less spectacles of hers were a pair of hollow, glossless indigo eyes that held no love for anything._

**_'Akabane-san…'_**

_Any form of anger that he had was swept away after that – his shoulders relaxed and his expression softened. So the woman had seen through him? Occasions like these are rare for the redhead; he usually is considered inscrutable by most. _

_"Well…"It took a few moments for him to arrange an appropriate answer with the right words – wow, she got him tongue-tied; that's a first in a long time. "Her heart's out there in the open, where everyone can see it, and where it can be easily torn apart." He paused for a bit, and this time he was the one that didn't want to look at old woman "At the rate everything's going, it's only a matter of time before she decides to just lock it away…and that's the one thing I don't want happening."_

_Inari studied him this time. The usually calm and prideful brat she saw in him seemed to have disappeared at the time – his eyes were set to the side, but they were distant; along with it, the boy's tone sounded sincere enough, and she could guess that he'd gone through things that led him to that fear. Satisfied with the answer, she sighed and held her forehead._

_"She's not going to lock it away."_

_"You don't know that."_

_"Believe me, I do…_

*Inside a dim classroom located in the first year branch of Kimii High School's campus, a blond haired girl with clenched teeth dripped with sweat as she would evade swift attacks from her fellow sweat drenched opponent and block attacks with the desk leg she considered to be a sad excuse for a weapon.

_That heart of hers…is way too used to getting hurt she's beginning not to care…_

Mimura swung powerfully once she had seen an opening from the golden-haired girl – but to everyone's surprise, the wooden sword did not meet its target and had been deflected by a pair of arms that shook and created an audible _crack_ from the force of the weapon colliding with it. From that point on, it was as if the world had gone in slow motion. Okuda Manami had cut in between the two with her teeth visibly grit from the pain and the struggle of overpowering the taller and much more built brunette.

Because of the abrupt intrusion, Rio found herself stumbling backwards and tripping as she landed on the floor with her back on the wall just beside the door – and that was the only time she registered what was going on. Blue eyes went wider than ever the moment they grasped the situation in front of them. Nakamura Rio had lost the ability to move as she had been overcome with shock – this appeared to be so for all else in the room and outside of it. Just on the sidelines, Rinka and Fuwa shared the same expression of absolute disbelief as their jaws dropped.

At that same second Sugino and Chiba made it to the door and witnessed it just in time – in turn, Sugino's own eyes mirrored everyone else' as he was overwhelmed with how astounded he felt. Even Chiba couldn't deny how unexpected it all was as his mouth went agape in an even more so exaggerated fashion

Through the window, Isura Mai's bright blue orbs shrunk and quivered in between the white of her eyes; at the same time, it was like her body felt numb as she froze in her spot completely amazed. Gasps broke out from behind her accompanied by a few exclamations she couldn't understand – she couldn't care less what they said. Right now, Okuda Manami just did the bravest thing anyone in that room or out of it could've done.

_I don't want her to turn a blind eye to things that are already too much for her."_

"O-Okuda!" was all the shock-stricken Mimura could utter out. The grip she had around her kendo sword loosened up from the fast sequence of events – even she saw this as the most unexpected thing from anyone, _especially_ her. Manami on the other hand, struggled to keep her stance straight albeit her feet slipping on the tiled floor from the power gap between her and the one she was currently _desperately_ trying to stop. It took the utmost effort of Manami's muscles to even get the brunette to back away a step – as of now, she chose to ignore the aching in her probably badly injured arms and focused on getting Mimura as far away as possible from her blond friend.

"Okuda…! When did you—"

"S-Stop it!" the introverted geek screeched with a booming power that only added up to everyone's already shocked state as each of the following exclamations sounded more and more agonizing each time she repeated. "Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Manami trembled under her bursting emotions, she couldn't say anything else – rather, she failed to be able to think of anything else to say.

_Enough Enough Enough Enough __**Enough**_

That was all that played in her head. After being put through so much for days, it wasn't abnormal to create an outburst. But this one felt different to everyone's ears – it was intimidating despite her small structure, and not intimidating in a scary way; rather, it was as if whatever pain that poured out of her heart now had injected itself into everyone else'. Even the heartless girls that had been the cause of this from the very beginning felt chills go up their spines from the small girl's cries.

"Oku—"by this time, Mimura had dropped her weapon after being pushed back a few steps as Manami had her fists shivering by the overflow of feelings that pulsed out of her form.

"I…I don't want anymore. I'm sick and tired of it all! I…I don't care what you do to me and how long you want to keep doing it but…!" She gulped, she couldn't afford to filter her words – heck she's not even giving them any thought, they just came out without a care in the world "Just… **DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS!**" from this point, tears had started to go down uncontrollably again.

It was at that same time when the other staff and Mikagura-sensei had arrived to put a stop to the fight that had been reported – but the only ones who ended up being stopped were themselves. The orange-haired teacher ordered her companions not to interfere with the swift movement of her arm and a shake of her head; this had to be done first. To hell with school rules for a while, Mikagura-sensei knew how much the girl needed this.

The outburst had resulted to the combat club members present in the room to perk up and create sounds of shock. That was the extent of her care for them; she would endure many things just not to have them become harmed in any way possible, even if she'd hit rock-bottom.

But that wasn't the only reason for this explosion.

Mimura, her group, and the rest of the students that listened to her had their mouths shut and their hearts struck with several emotions; and one of them was guilt.

"Why…?! WHY?! You don't…don't even know anything!" Manami sobbed – she couldn't find any words to use to express all of these things she felt as the tears flowed endlessly. But in order to not leave what she had done for naught, she had to set herself straight and at the very least, speak clearly.

"I'm…I'm not the best person to be with, and I'm bad with words…and I'm very troublesome…but…! **PLEASE DON'T DO ANY OF THAT TO ME!** Maybe it's funny when I'm lost and confused most of the time! But to me it's really hard! When I don't understand anything please don't laugh at me! It's a very…! It makes me feel really sad and lonely! **It's not funny!**" The words were wrapped around in sobs, but they were understood. Those in the crowd who were guilty of such had exchanged looks with each other.

"Not…funny…" she unknowingly took advantage of everyone's stunned silence to wipe her wet face using the sleeve of her blazer which inevitably led to her glasses falling to the floor. After each exclamation she would feel something big that weighed heavily on her heart fly out and spread across those that lent an ear to her. It was quite the bittersweet feeling – to be selfish and let it out for once.

By the door where Sugino and Chiba sympathetically watched everything unfold, Karma had come just in time to hear the words 'it's not funny'; his injured hands had been wrapped around with medical dressing (courtesy of the one and only school nurse) – the two dark-haired males failed to notice him however, for they had reached a certain depth into the scene where they would become unaware of their surroundings. The red-haired boy joined in the watching with mercury orbs void of emotion as his hands were inserted into his pockets.

"And then…" was the next thing Manami was able to say in between the choked sobs that caused her eyes to brim with unending streams of saltwater. "And then…it really hurts when you use me for things…" her voice had toned down this time, but it only lasted for a brief moment for she ended up crying out another blast of feelings "**PLEASE DON'T USE ME! **I'd be happy to help you but…! And I'm _nowhere near_ the best person to say this but..! If you can't do it on your own, you're not going to learn! You can't always count on me to do things for you! And it really…! Really hurts whenever I get blamed for it! It's the same with your feelings for Karma-kun!" she said the last set of words with direct eye contact with Mimura despite her violet orbs being clouded and blurred.

The last exclamation caused the Naoki group and Naoki herself to create sharp gasps and startled cries – and of course, a few other girls outside the classroom who heard it also perked up. Rio suddenly had her shoulders jerk up with a choked 'Eh?!' after she had registered what she just said as she regained consciousness of her surroundings and sharply turned her head with a worried expression and saw him standing right there – his eyebrows were raised at the sudden mention of his name in the controversy. Sugino and Chiba had only just noticed him being there due to his name unexpectedly being talked about which had them jerk to the opposite side of where he was.

Karma had ever so suddenly become the center of attention of a few students after that – even Rinka and Fuwa spared a moment to glance at his confounded face.

"I know! You really care about Karma-kun but don't let it out on me that way! If you want me to tell him you can just ask! You don't have to treat me like that! Or even better, I'm not Karma-kun so don't tell me! Tell him instead!" her eyelids had shut tightly again as she put her heart into the next sentence once more "**With someone as nice as him, I'm sure he'll listen to you!**"

At that moment, Rio wanted to make fun of the red tint that was on Karma's face right now (really, she truly did.), but failed to do so because even _she_ had been taken aback by how straightforward that entire thing was just now – it was too straightforward for anyone's comfort for that matter for everyone else seemed to have mirrored the reaction Rio just made.

Outside of the room, the vice president would be lying if she said that that didn't take her by surprise herself, but all she did was raise her eyebrows as her mouth had formed into a dot on her face as if said _'Oh…'_

Manami gave out a few more sobs before continuing with a brittle voice as she wiped her eyes with her fingers "I say this but…I'm no better…" The sobs had calmed just a tad bit for now – the shy chemist had a runny nose and swollen eyes by this time as she gave Kimizuki (whose mouth was still wide open from what the raven-haired girl just shouted for the world to hear) a glance. "I get it…I'm a dirty hypocrite that can't do anything right…I know I'm not good at a lot of very important things in life…! A-And I don't expect a lot from myself either but…!" Manami looked at Kimizuki in the eye; her voice had gone back to that of a loud volume as this final sentence seemed to have poured out the last and most prominent bit of emotions. "**WHAT DID YOU SAY THAT FOR?!**" and with an injured arm placed over her eyes, she bawled then and there.

_This is my hand…whether or not they take it is up to them. _

Kimizuki felt a sick feeling inside her stomach – and she badly wanted to puke it out after that. The guilt had overwhelmed her to the point that she wanted to cry as well and tell her how sorry she was for saying something like that. She and the rest of class 1-C felt as if a gigantic arrow of guilt just rammed through their hearts and impaled them.

The former Class E students and the older brunette who viewed it all from the outside had a different face on – one could easily dismiss them as blank, but there was more meaning into their so-called 'blank' expressions. The message behind it held the same thoughts that went through their minds at the time

_'She finally let it out…'_ was what those stare's message was.

Mikagura-sensei considered this moment of guilt-trip as an opportunity to do what she and her team came here for "What are you doing being all googoo-eyed? Do your job." The chemist said with a smile of contentment as she crossed her arms. Their supposed 'peacekeepers' needed a second to regain their composure and take in what was going on before one of them said "O-Oh yeah!"

* * *

Everything had more or less settled down by now.

The students who gathered were sent to their homes as they were escorted by the school personnel with the help of the student council – including Isura Mai, who did so with a smile on her face as her chest had been freed from worry.

The ones left in the disarrayed classroom were the combat club members and the Mimura Naoki group – albeit the former had been asked to step outside for a while excluding Nakamura and Okuda (whom had to help with cleaning up first before they get sent to the office.

For some reason – no, they knew perfectly why their chests felt lighter; it was relief, and the feeling of something finally being over after much conflicts. Yuzuki was the first to speak after she breathed out a huge sigh "Welp~ Things seemed to have brightened up for all of us today. I honestly found myself being unable to breathe at some point."

"I think we all got to that point…" Chiba remarked with a sweatdrop.

"Even so, that girl knows how to turn a slice-of-life manga into reality~!" Yuzuki's eyes glistened at the thought as a blush came to her cheeks. This just earned her an awkward chuckle from her classmate.

Speaking of Yuzuki's classmate, Sugino turned his attention to Karma – who was leaning against the wall not too far away from the door. "I never would've thought you'd be getting confessions this early, Karma-kun." He tried teasing as he prodded the redhead's arm with the back of his hand.

Rinka, who had been silent for a while, couldn't help but give a small smirk at the memory – it should be fun to try making fun of him after this. Finally; long-awaited payback can be done.

"Oh yeah! It was the one with the short black hair that did this year, right?" the mangaka wannabe joined in with a sly look in her features "So, how'd it go? You never told us."

This was the last conversation Karma would deem interesting, but even so, he kept himself leaned on the wall with his hands in his pocket with that carefree smile of his – he too had been relieved, for now that is. "Obviously, I flat-out rejected her."

"Eh—Whoa, cold." Sugino stepped back from his friend, but it wasn't as if he hadn't expected it and sighed. "Oh well, you're Karma-kun after all."

"Aw, you make me sound like a generally bad person." Karma joked then continued "It wasn't anything, really. It's just…"

That was when the door to their right opened up and out came the egotistical girls that started this brouhaha – of course, the group former assassin's attention shifted to them as they glowered. Karma smirked and watched them with a sadistic eye as each one had gone out, and it was then he decided to finish his sentence "_Spoiled girls that make a mess if they don't get what they want, are the ones I hate the most._" He emphasized the last seven words with all the intent to instill it in their hearts so they could suffer for it.

This evidently resulted to most of them perking up as they spared him a glance. Once they did, the boy chose that time to stick out a derisive tongue at them; like how any immature kid would. Karma turned his head up and closed his eyes as he listened to the heartbroken squeaks and doleful gasps of the ladies – success.

Mimura had to hold her tears back from there as her nails nearly made her palms bleed from the fury of her fists – she had been the first to storm out of the floor as the few others followed. Kimizuki was the only one who didn't react much – she just stared at him indifferently and followed after them; she didn't have anything to lose after all. And besides, she wasn't all that into him anyway.

"That was foul…but brilliant." Yuzuki praised with a nod of approval.

Not too long after, the other two stepped out of the classroom. Rio came out with her arms atop her head lazily with exhaustion written all over her features – a few bandages and medical plaster had been placed on her cheek and a few parts of her arm from her injuries. Manami followed after with her eyes downcast; her arms had bandages wrapped around them similar to that of a mummy beneath her long sleeves and her fingers entwined in front of her – of course, for one thing she'd been through a lot, and there was still the unmistakable guilt they all knew she brought along with her.

Upon seeing the petite, bespectacled girl, Karma's smile faded away as he averted his eyes; despite having calmed down due to the relief, he was still undeniably quite irked by her. Unfortunately, the girl saw this gesture of his, and it only made her feel worse. She'd gotten him so worked up about her today, that alone was enough to have her feel ashamed, but the fact that she knew he was mad just by looking at him couldn't be more heart-wrenching; even with the appeased smiles of her other friends that stood by him.

Later on, the teachers came out of the room looking satisfied but at the same time exasperated "Okay, let's get a move on."

* * *

Karma didn't show up as the other four waited in front of the principal's office.

There was a set of chairs outside of the room that would serve as a waiting area – it was quite convenient for the club members. Chiba and Hayami sat next to each other and as usual, kept to themselves. In contrast with the stoic duo, Sugino and Fuwa would usually engage in conversation once in a while; the topic of discussion mostly concerned the incidents of today – but they only spoke in tones above a whisper; after all, they didn't want Mimura's group (who was about three seats away from them) to hear it all and make things awkward for them.

Rinka had her arms crossed above her chest with emerald orbs lost in the swirling pool of thoughts within her already ached head. Even with everything finally back together and even with all the problems down to nearly zero, she didn't feel all that refreshed. It was as if there could've been more to what she had done – but she didn't do it; she hesitated, and that's what was the most unnerving of all things today. The sniper wasn't a very expressive person as she is easily misunderstood by most (not like she cares), but truthfully, she considers Okuda as a precious friend of hers despite the gap between their personalities and how she makes it out to be. Rinka didn't know where else she'd be able to come across someone like that – it was almost like the short girl was an angel that got sucked into the world and lost its way. And knowing she had not given enough effort in her time of great need, it was inevitable that the overachiever would feel her uselessness bite on her heart.

Before long, the blond and the braided exited the office on their club's side of the door in the same fashion they did with the classroom earlier – but this time Rio looked all the more annoyed. "That took way too long." She said with a yawn and slumped to the wall without enthusiasm. The four stood up and surrounded the two to inquire what had gone down inside, but since Rio found that boring and Manami refused to face them, not much was known except the fact that the blond had to clean up the school's pool by herself during the weekend (even though the bespectacled girl insisted on helping her, she was told off by both the teacher and the blond), the set of females with them in the waiting area had been excluded in the school excursion and that Mimura Naoki had been suspended.

The group's attention turned to the other door where the other group had laid in wait no longer as the brunette stepped out not looking the least bit delighted with the turnout of things. Manami observed how they rose from their seats and exchanged whispers with one another – it didn't look like what they were discussing looked too good because not too long after they had gathered around their 'leader', all had looked to the introvert's way.

Manami could only stare back at them blankly, but the emotions behind that nonchalant stare of hers seemed to have remained in the clutter of thoughts they had within their brains.

Suddenly, the golden-haired girl next to her blocked the snobbish girl's view in a protective manner and gave them a warning look. It wasn't a moment later when Yuzuki decided to join in with what Rio wanted to do as she put her arm right in front of the bespectacled girl; soon after, Sugino mimicked their actions as he stepped forth and planted himself on the spot not too far away from the two girls, but still used his body to tell them to back off. Chiba and Hayami did the rest and stationed themselves at the front-most area in a similar way military officers would when ready to defend their authorities from threats.

All girls only peered back until Mimura groaned in frustration "Alright! I get it! Jeez, you're all war freaks."

"If you get it then run along and get out of here." Rio commanded them with a loud voice as her hand traveled to her waist – she used the other one to point out the door exaggeratedly.

Mimura scoffed and began to trudge away with loud footsteps similar to that of a child going through a tantrum – the others followed after with sneers on their faces.

"Wait!"

"O-Oku—"

In an instant and to no one's preparation, Manami yelled and padded toward them and stopped in the middle of the hall just a safe enough distance from her group and Mimura's. This abrupt move had earned her yet another handful of surprised stares.

After she had heard the voice seep into her ears, Mimura refused to look back at her but halted in her steps – her shoulders rose up as a clear sign of utter irritation "What do you want now?!"

Yuzuki had uneasiness gulp down her throat for a while and tried to call her back "Okud—"

"I want you to apologize to them." The poison-lover's tone was firm and solid – much different from the one everyone had been used to hearing from her so of course this had most in a state of bewilderment.

"What?" This time the obnoxious brunette turned around to glare at the annoying little pest's (as deemed by her) determined indigo orbs – her pride resisted the urge to display how fazed she was by such a focused pair of eyes.

"Apologize to them." Manami repeated, but this time politeness had been unmistakably present; it was more gentle the second time. She paused for a moment to get the words out of her head and out of her mouth one more time with another spark of courage within her chest. "You…you don't know anything…All of you don't know how kind they've been to me…" her eyelids lowered as her tone had softened with the sincerity poured into it.

_'It's okay now, Okuda-san. We understand what it is; come sit with us.'_

"While everyone else avoided me, they were the ones that treated me like an equal…"

_'Would you mind if you taught me a few things? I'd like to lend a hand because I find it interesting now that you've opened up to me about it, after all, there was this one really good manga I read where chemistry was its heart!'_

"…how they always kept my spirits up…and how they taught me so many things…"

_'None of us ever thought you didn't care. Don't say sorry too much, because there's nothing you have to be sorry for. Don't say 'thank you' either. We didn't actually do anything to deserve that word; after all, the one that got you out of your own troubles was you'_

"You…you don't know any of that…"

_'Kind of reminds me of…a mother.'_

"Th…That's why I want you to apologize to them; to make them go through so much today…I…I can't forgive it." Manami raised her gaze from the floor and presented the Naoki group with her genuine features. Hearing this heartfelt set of sentences, those behind the strong-hearted girl had never been more touched – this girl who claimed to had done nothing much compared what they've given her, is fighting for them; you don't meet someone as kind-hearted as that every day. In fact, it wasn't only Yuzuki on the verge of tears at the moment, but even Rio and (shockingly) Rinka had to stop themselves from becoming a pair of wet messes right there.

_'Okuda-san…'_

Kimizuki listened carefully to these words of hers expressionlessly – she didn't particularly care about the girl or like her in any way, but after all that's happened, the only thing that was left for what she felt about this girl was indifference and a growing respect.

Mimura clicked her tongue – just listening to this girl was a drag to her "Tch, as if I car—"

"Na-o-cchi." The raven haired girl with the mole under her eye chimed in albeit being silent for the most time "She's telling you to apologize. Just do it; or is your arrogance making it too hard?" Kimizuki shot her a taunting gaze and a jeering smirk.

This caught the auburn-haired female off guard; now even a person she considered as 'one with her' went over to her side. Mimura's brows twitched with irritation – even more so when she caught more smirks coming from the group that protected the incessant puny girl.

"Whatever!" she turned a heel and proceeded to storm off "I _apologize for my mistakes_. Are you happy now?!" the rest of the girls were reluctant to follow her, but eventually they just silently agreed on bandwagon-ing.

Before they all vanished from Manami's sight, she could've sworn Kimizuki glanced at her with a small smile on her features. Though it had only been there for a mere second, the petite-framed girl could not deny the small joy that formed inside her chest.

After the clang of the exit door that echoed through the empty administration lane of Kimii's high school building, Manami slumped down to the floor face-first comically with a large sigh of relief – which got her a few 'Ah!' 's of panic from her former classmates as they came to her aid.

"Ahhh…that was nerve-wracking…" she breathed out after another huge sigh and sat up straight.

"O-Okuda…are you okay?" Sugino questioned her with uncertainty laced in his voice as he helped Yuzuki prop her back up.

"Thank you…" she smiled brightly and exhaled one last time; but the smile soon disappeared as she shifted her gaze to her intertwined fingers that rested on her lap.

"I…I thought I could do this on my own…" before she knew it, her eyes had gone blurry again from another batch of saltwater that invaded her eyesight and messed up her glasses. Her voice had gone brittle yet again "It…It came to the point where I thought that I was going to end up alone either way…That I'd just say 'oh well, it was fun while it lasted' even if I really didn't want that…!"

Their stares were fixed at her as all remained quiet and listened to her – none made any form of sound nor facial expression. "Even when I knew I was such a handful…even when I knew I'd end up messing things up eventually again…I couldn't bring myself to give you up…! I wanted to get closer to all of you again… But…I was so convinced you'd get hurt if you stayed around me…so I took this on my own…I really thought…that I could be able to do it because I knew how to reach people because of you…but I ended up causing trouble for everyone…! The worst part was…I was selfishly thinking about how glad I was when you came to save me…I'm…" after a few sniffles, Manami's eyes shut tight as more tears streamed down. "I'm sorry…"

Sugino and Rio exchanged a few looks until the latter took her hand and flicked the forehead of the sobbing girl hard – which resulted to a cute sound coming from her.

"Aowh!" Manami jerked backwards and held her forehead with both hands. "Na-Nakamura-san?"

"You know, you seriously need to stop thinking that way." She said with a low voice before proceeding to put her arms around the startled girl "If we want to do it, we'll do it no matter what. Things like 'troublesome' or any of that crap never came to mind. I said it before, right? Don't say sorry when there's nothing to be sorry for…" she mumbled next to the smaller girl's ear with closed lids as she continued "Stop thinking you have to be alone with your problems. If it's too much for you, say it." By this point, her voice had become shaky "Don't you know? We care about you too. Seeing you hurt will hurt us. That's just what friends do; you're not a bother to any of us, you're precious to us as we are to you. So…"

"Na…kamura-san…?" Rio held the girl in her arms tighter as her own tears started to form.

"Stop being so stupid! You're not on your own! Because from the very moment you meet someone, you're already part of their life!" Rio had probably broken Manami's left eardrum, but she had to somehow get these words across. The blond was now fully aware how much help this girl needed, and slowly, she was starting to learn how to deal with her – starting now.

The braided girl's eyes were wide – it had only been in her dreams where she would hear someone say that to her, and now that it's come to reality, she couldn't contain the scorching happiness that radiated from her soul as more drops of water escaped her eyes. She had cried too much today – ashamed she may have been for that fact, but you couldn't quite blame her. After all, someone so fragile can only go through so much.

Right beside the two, Yuzuki joined in with the sniffling, but this time it was much more touched compared to when she cried about Manami's gifts to them. "Aw, come on! Nakamura-san stole all the cool lines!"

"What are you talking about, Fuwa-san?" Rio stifled a small chuckle from her position as she used a finger to wipe her nose.

"You told her everything I wanted to say to her! Now all I can say at a scene like this is…" Fuwa sniffled even more as her eyes formed into what looked like blobs on her face as they sparkled with the light from the sunset just outside "Okuda-san you…IDIOT!" and with that, Yuzuki glomped the two girls and sobbed louder than they both did as the other three laughed in the bittersweetness of the scene – it would be best for them to keep themselves at bay before they attract any more attention to themselves.

_I wonder…what this feeling was called again…?_

_Brighter than happiness…_

_Deeper than despair…_

"Th—"

"If you say thank you again, I'll flick your forehead harder!"

_Oh yeah…_

_I love them after all…_

* * *

"Well, let's get going!" Sugino exclaimed after everyone had settled down and prepared to leave.

"I'm going this way" The finally calmed down Manami gave them a small smile as she pointed to the opposite side of their way home – she wasn't the type that went through the same route everyone else did for reasons that didn't matter anymore; however, this had become a habit for her already after doing it so long.

And besides, there was someone who took it with her.

Speaking of that someone else…where was he?

"Alright then, we'll go this way." Rio sent the small girl a wink and pulled on Yuzuki's wrist before she could offer to go with the chemistry maniac. The blond had a hunch that she knew where the braided girl was going, and after what she said earlier she couldn't wait for the gossip she could get out from Manami when she gets her to spill.

Hayami and Chiba were the next ones to leave in the same direction. "Have a safe trip, Okuda-san." Chiba waved a stoic farewell at the short girl he – honestly – looked forward to seeing her grow up. Truth be told, today gave him quite the show under his serious demeanor; what more would be in store for the events to come? Before all this he considered her to be just…there. But now that he'd seen enough and heard enough (especially from his girlfriend but not girlfriend), one couldn't help but wonder.

Okuda presented the couple with a small wave of goodbye – the smile never wavering.

Rinka abruptly stopped walking; good thing she wasn't too far from her yet. "Okuda-san."

"Uh—Mm?" Well, this certainly came out of nowhere; not to mention, Rinka had never really spoken with her – even the tall boy that went ahead of the orangeheaded sniper halted in his steps to see what she had on her sleeve with this.

The stoic girl had her back face the girl to hide whatever face she had on as he worded out her next sentence "If you can't handle something, or don't want to handle something, it's best you just don't."

Where she was going with this, Manami had no clue. What brought this up so suddenly?

_Is she…scolding me…? Yeah…that must be it…_

The science geek recalled the remnants of her past week – how she had been used to do things for people without any form of argument and where it got her; she failed subjects, she got into trouble and she had been hurt mentally. That must be Hayami-san's point; she must be scolding her for allowing such a thing to happen to her.

Manami nodded in understanding "Mm…I know…thank you, Hayami-san." With those last, soft, words of gratitude, she skipped away to the opposite side of the hall.

Rinka took into account the sound of her padding footsteps fading away and smiled; contented. Chiba tilted his head when she approached him and led their walk home together "That's a lot coming from you."

What he had said to the ginger seemed to have triggered some flashbacks for the girl had gone silent. It must be so – after all, the very reason she got dropped into class E back in middle school was because of her inability to voice disapproval to those 'wretched' classmates of her for asking too much from her skills.

"I guess that's so…" Rinka stared back at the empty corridor where the purple-eyed girl ran off to.

Ryuunosuke found something odd with how his light-haired companion was acting – something fishy must've happened, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it; and he's far from figuring it out.

"By the way, earlier today…what were you doing outside of the classroom before we came?"

All he got out of her was a smirk.

_After the infiltration of the much older members of the school, the situation was dealt with smoothly. With that being said, Rinka took this opportunity to check off something on her agenda – oh how long she waited for it to arrive._

_As the adults seized the problem along with its victims and participants, the orange-haired sniper took advantage of the confusion, slid the door open and stepped outside. There, she was met with the bright blue eyes of Kimii's high school vice president; and along with it, the dumbfounded stares of some of the students that appeared to have only taken notice of her because of the aura she gave out. Sometimes, Rinka would be proud of it – it got people seeing her as someone not to be messed with._

_It wasn't too long before she got the attention of her target (AKA: every student there that isn't Isura Mai) after slamming the door shut; she doubted those inside would take notice of it since it had become rather rowdy within this specific first year classroom._

_Soon after she got the freshmen to keep their gazes at her, whispers broke out with 'Who's that?' or 'I believe she's Hayami Rinka from class B…' and so on and so forth._

_But once the ginger played out one of her intoxicating glares, the mutters and utters from every nook and cranny died as soon as a fly would evade the slap of a hand. The aura of this person was intimidating enough, but to see those sharp, green eyes glow viciously amidst the darkness with the booming force of her emotions that shot through everyone's chests like a sword out of fire – it slowly seeped into them as it set their senses aflame; that is the signature glare of Hayami Rinka_

_"The next time we hear about another incident like this…" she started with her usual, calm voice – until a split second later, with a swift movement of her hand, one of the hair bands she had on flew past a girl with walnut-toned hair styled in a ponytail. And after two or three seconds of nothing in particular happening, a swollen, red mark erupted from the side of her cheek that apparently was as painful as it looked to be. The guilty girl with the brown hair placed a shivering hand over the swelled part – and everyone knew then that this group was bad news; most especially after-_

_"__**I'll personally be the one to bring about your punishment.**__"_

"Nothing." And she dropped the subject with a satisfied smile and eyes that seemed to have lit up.

Chiba eyed her blinkingly _'That face your making doesn't look like it was just 'nothing' '_

* * *

"…Hello…Karma-kun."

There he was, leaned on the shoe locker where he usually waited for her if ever she were to come late – Manami had half-expected him to be home by now, but it still never ceased to surprise her whenever the boy did something, and this includes now. Albeit the greeting, Karma did not respond, but only stared at her inscrutably as a sign of acknowledgement to her presence. The science lover didn't feel very comfortable with the attitude he had put up, but she tried again in hopes of seeing at least a tiny smile grace his features.

"How long have you been waiting here?" still no response; his stare intimidated her to the extent she would feel as if it peered into her soul. Mercury eyes were narrowed; his covered hands were hid in his pockets as his mouth hadn't moved from its form as a straight line upon his features.

Manami gulped, but before she could even try speaking again, Karma had lifted himself away from the set of lockers and proceeded to exit the school at a rather late hour. The eyeglasses-ed female had a feeling he wanted her to follow after; and she obliged, but kept her distance.

_I…I made him angry…that's a first_

Above their heads was a sky of vast indigo that stretched to the far east – stars began to twinkle weakly in the sea of clouds and colors as the west most portion of the sky still harbored its sunset orange taints and purple-ish swirl of clouds that blended magnificently beyond the tree leaves as they passed through. It was times like these wherein Manami would take the chance to savor in the remedies of the wonderful scenes the world would bless their eyes with. However, she could not enjoy it to its full extent for most of her mind had focused on the boy right in front of her.

His back…it looked tired from lifting a weight – the way he walked with his school bag slung over his shoulder was much more limited; the relaxed fashion he was greatly known for had dissipated before her; another Karma she was yet to know walked about six steps ahead of her, and amidst the remorse, the braided girl found herself pulled in by her curiosity

_I wonder if anyone else has seen him this way…_

His usually neat red locks floated against the breeze in its carefree-like manner. The black cardigan he wore everywhere he went was in sync with the wind the river had brought with it. Manami observed how his gaze never left the ground from the time they had departed from Kimii – what was it he was feeling right now? At the time, she wasn't so sure; she assumed it was anger, frustration – he was vexed and she could tell. She had a feeling it was with her, but with the way things paced themselves before her eyes

She just didn't understand.

"Why were you quiet about it?"

Manami snapped her head up – he finally said something, although it had been carried out with a low, hostile voice that demanded her for her thoughts. His back remained to be the only thing in her view as he halted from his steps; funny, it reminded the girl of their exact distance and positions when they first encountered each other in this same area, in this same time, under that same sunset sky.

Unexpectedly, she was not surprised by the topic of discussion nor by his forceful approach with this. She glanced at him once more; his head had been turned to the side as a listening gesture. It took moments for the small girl to contemplate on her words until she lowered her head "I didn't want you to worry—"

"Don't lie to me." The volume in his tone rose, and at the same time he turned around to face her directly. Manami studied his expression for a while – yes, it was evidently angry; brows were furrowed with sharp, narrow mercury orbs that shot through her with such fury she had been left tongue-tied; but to not answer him would be disrespectful and rude in every possible way.

"There's another reason right?" he caught her; this was one of the many things the four-eyed girl least desired. But knowing him, and how obvious she could get no matter how hard she tried to hide it, of course he'd catch on quite quickly.

The braided girl nodded and lowered her gaze once again "Mm…the reason it all started was because of you, Karma-kun…" the grip she had on her bag tightened, even if it did cause the aching in her arms to throb "I didn't want you to feel bad about it. I didn't want you to know because I was sure you'd help me…if you did then…that would've made the rumors worse; p-people might really think I'm using you and I didn't want them to think badly of you—"

"Does it look like I care?" Manami's head and shoulders jerked up, it was way more aggressive now, and it caused her to somewhat fidget uncomfortably – even if he was considered to be the person she's most relaxed with, this was really a side of him she was not familiar of.

And Karma-kun who was not scary, just became scary again.

"Eh—Well—Because Karma-kun, you—"

"Where does my decision fit in all of your assumptions?" he stepped forward, which unconsciously had the shorter girl step back in instinct. "You're not the one that gets to decide what I do; I do what I want. What makes you think you have my right over that?"

_Scary._

With an ounce of courage, Manami attempted to retort to his interrogations – she'd had a long day as well, so it would be natural to have your usual self quite out of the norm "You're important to me Karma-kun, that's why—"

He stepped forward again, but this time she couldn't move "What would've happened to you if we didn't interfere? Clearly you couldn't handle it by yourself." This one hit close to home, and it felt as if her heart just got slapped with the hand of reality – but instead of wallowing in it again, she pursued to argue with him.

"Why are you so mad—"this came out like a choked cry, but she refused to shed anymore tears than she already had.

"You're not the only one who has people important to you, that's why!" and with that outburst of his, the purple pair of eyes that took aid behind spectacles shrunk as she was put to a mute by the outbreak of the redhead's feelings.

That hit her harder than a home-run baseball. All she could do was stare – completely flabbergasted as she noticed something new in that strong gaze of his. It was faint, but it was there; you could see it if you squint hard enough.

What was it? Was it…

_Hurt…?_

It had to be. It was clear now; he was there for her from the beginning, and she didn't trust him enough to relay her problems to him – even if she did mean well. From the very start, he had given her many things, and if it weren't for him, she'd still be the passing dust in the world full of significant people as she would waste away in her days of solitude. When she didn't handle it well, he came to her aid again, and yet she feels bad about that? It was that kind of thinking that got everyone into such a mishap.

_'Because from the very moment you meet someone, you're already part of their life!'_

Shame had taken over her, whatever other feeling that grew from the small feud between her and Karma had quickly been cut off "I'm…sorr—"

"It's decided." He was much calmer now, but it still caught her off guard somewhat; perhaps those few seconds of her silence also gave him a chance to clear whatever it was that bombarded his thoughts. Truth be told, this outburst of his surprised him as well.

_'Dammit…I sound like an adult.'_ He caught himself cursing at the very thought – that was the last thing he wanted to be, really. But the dark-haired girl in front of his eyes had gotten that part of him to come out of its hiding.

Karma turned a heel and faced her with his back as the next words came out "From now on, you have to promise that you won't hide anything from me, and that you won't face your problems alone, understood?"

Manami didn't want to make him upset anymore, but what he just asked for was next to impossible. How can she be able to do her best if he's always there for her? She knows it herself – she's not allowed to rely on him all the time, no matter how much he insisted. Even if this incident had proved otherwise, someday she's going to have to get out of this boundary she herself laid before her; she'll have to get by on her own one day and become strong.

_I don't want to be spoiled_

"I can't…" and the words came out softly, but she made sure it was clear enough to reach his ears from the gap between them. Karma narrowed his eyes and turned to her again – what he saw were her crestfallen eyes accompanied with faint and gloomy smile.

Then her purple orbs locked with his pale gold ones "I can't promise you that, Karma-kun…"

What he did next left Manami in another state of confusion and small panic for he had dropped his bag and started briskly walking to her with that same serious face he put on from the moment she encountered him in school – but it was milder now; this only added to her confusion, however. But in the end, she couldn't move for she had been lost in it

"K—Karm—"and within a second, his bandage covered hand had made its way to the back of her head and pulled her face to his right shoulder – the girl's eyes had gone wide with his suddenness. This wasn't what she expected after she just made him more disappointed in her.

"K—"she tried to speak, but her voice had been muffled by his clothes against her features – that and he cut her off.

"I know that…" he mumbled into her right ear – any ounce of aggressiveness or forcefulness had vanished as his tone was quiet and humorless. "At the very least…let me be worried about you." The words sounded so genuine Manami blinked beneath his touch. Karma had done this for two reasons; the first was so she couldn't see the so-called 'weak' expression he had all over his face now, and the second was because…he wasn't so sure but he just felt like it.

The braided girl's lids went halfway after she really got a good grip of what he wanted to get through to her as she nodded "Mm…I'm sorry for snapping at you…"

"I don't really care about that…" he reassured her and stifled a puny chortle – fortunately, his bad mood had been lifted up. And for a little while longer, they stayed that way; honestly, he was just glad everything was over for now. After being pulled about by his frantic emotions the entire day, you'd expect one to be exhausted – especially someone like Karma, who wasn't exactly the best at handling his own.

_Today…I got to see another side of Karma-kun I don't think a lot of people come by…_

_I was scared, but at the same time…I became curious._

_What other sides are there to Karma-kun, I wonder…?_

"Hey…" Karma called to her one more time even after she bid him farewell and to see him tomorrow.

"Hm?"

The two of them were outside of Manami's apartment complex by now. Lamp posts lit the way of the dark road as it served as the only source of light for both students.

The boy with red locks kept his back turned to her again – he'd done that a lot today now, but he had to somehow hide away whatever it was that made his cheeks feel so hot from her; it would look bad on his part after all "About your words earlier…how am I supposed to take them?"

_'My words earlier?'_ the short girl thought about what he meant for a bit until she got something from the series of events that had gone on in just a single day.

_'__**With someone as nice as him, I'm sure he'll listen to you!**__'_

_Could it be…that?_

Why on earth would he ask something like that? But she figured that she at least needed to satisfy him today with one honest, and uplifting answer. Manami just took whatever what was at the top of her head and told him bluntly "Words of praise." She smiled, hoping he got the answer he wanted.

Karma however, took a few seconds to respond as his eyeballs traveled from side to side but were kept on the ground as he forced the rush of blood to his cheeks to be rid of themselves for now – or eternity if he somehow got a free miracle. It didn't exactly look well for him to have red hair and a red face; all in all, he despised the word 'blushing'.

But after much contemplation on her answer he snickered and prepared to make his way home "Alright, if you say so."

* * *

_Earlier in the Kimii Infirmary…_

"...Speaking of locked hearts, why are you so afraid of that happening to her anyway?"

"Eh— well…she'll change too much."

"And that's a problem, why?"

"…I just don't like it." _I'd lose someone amazing and have her replaced with another me__  
_

* * *

**_*_I imagine this part in slow motion so I thought it'd be nice if you guys did too ^3^  
**

**WHOOPEE! I guess that's enough from Mimura Naoki...for now (heheheheheee)**

**So, how'd you like the chapter? Tell me your thoughts with a review! And as usual, if it's not too much to put some memorable parts of the chapter, do add them please!**

**WARN ME IF OOC HAPPENS! Because I have this feeling there were a bunch of OOC moments for everyone...I felt so lost because when things get emotional it gets challenging to write them in their full fledged character o-o**

**I hope I was able to ease your tastes once more with this helluva chapter XD I did my best! And I'll work on the next one ASAP~!**

**But first, question!: Is Isura Mai worthy enough to be shipped with anyone in your opinion?**

**OKAY~ All's well and it end's well...but there will never be an end to Class E! The End Classroom! (heheh irony)**

**Now let's stop dragging this and get on with the preview!**

**NEXT: School Excursion and Growing Feelings.**

**Nothing more country-like than to spend a school trip in NAGOYA! All freshmen go to the woods and farmlands of the rural Nagoya! How peaceful can things get? Oh wait, they don't. Girls rooms have gossips, boys rooms have rowdy jealousy fights...Rio and Rinka have been avoiding each other recently, did they have a fight or what? And what's with Karma he's been acting weird lately, well, to Manami that is... and what's this about revenge? ...Wait what!? Fuwa-san you have a crush on...! **

**FIND OUT MORE IN "To Reach You" !**

**LEAVE A REVIEW FOR LOVE AND SUPPORT~**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	8. Chapter 8

**NOW. I know this came late and I'm sorry for that. But I made two chapters in the span of time I was gone so please forgive me ;w;**

**Originally I wanted to post this entire arc as one chapter since I couldn't find the proper way to end it. BUT I didn't want to have you guys gulp down so many events in one so I divided it into two (The Trip and The Night)**

**I'd like you to treat them as one chapter though since they're connected that way after all.**

**I'll post the second part not long after this one so #KeepCalm ^o^**

**REVIEW REPLIES:**

**kawaiichoconeko: As always, ARIGATO FOR THE REVIEW! I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed that last bit as much as I did 8"D And yay new adjective to the urban dictionary. MUST LET THE REVOLUTION START. (Btw: LOVING THE ABC STORY KEEP IT UP I WANT MORE!)**

**Guest: Love you too~! Thanks for that review and I'll put as much of that ship as I can**

**animeandmangafangirl: Thanks for another review and for pointing out what you liked about the chapter! It makes me giddy like a school girl with bread in her mouth sailor moon style ^w^ Yeah she's older but you don't need to pay much mind to it**

**akikarui: YES AMEN! Thanks for reviewing and thanks for the reactions! Okay leave Mai to me~ ouo No no Thank YOU for motivating me**

**KisaragiMaru: I HONESTLY REALLY LIKED THOSE PARTS TOO! GO KARMA! Mimura will return or not is a secret~**

**Akabane-san: Thank you! You're amazing too for leaving a review ^w^ Well I guess I can tell you they're dating but they're not in this fic :3**

**blank9395: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed those parts as much as I did!**

**TheRoseShadow21: HELLO~Thanks for yet another review and for answering the question! I hope to see more of you AND your fics of Karmanami! (btw: Selfish and The Meaning of Forever made my kokoro snap)**

**Quilla The Silent: EYO~ And nah it's fine! Thank you for telling me all of that! This review really got me motivated! I'd like to see more of you! And yes #bestansweroftheday goes to Manami. Hands down. Blushing Karma makes my day XD**

**I12BFree: HEY~ Thanks for another review! Let's both feel happy for Manami-chan now! :3**

**natsuki DDS: As usual thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy you liked it cuz I worked hard on it~! **

**Binx: Love you!**

**stephenguerry: Thank you! Honestly I await that too but it's pretty far away 8"D. NAGISA WILL ARRIVE DONT WORRY (He'll only be in support though)**

**Resa: Thanks for the review! It got me going there really x'3 And yeah some references of KnT will arrive and I'm sorry for that X'D ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT~ (Psst! Down there!) And it's okay your english is understandable ^W^ **

**Now let us begin!**

***is stopped by a lawyer***

***Sigh* Disclaimer: I dont own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. Would I be writing this if I did? JFC**

* * *

**Chapter 8: School Excursion and Growing Feelings (The Trip)  
**

_Nagoya…_

Above the head of a particular raven-haired girl, a bright azure dome spread out like a vast sea of blue and white. The clouds formed like gigantic cotton balls that appeared to be soft to the touch as it soared slowly through its gentle spring breeze. The sun shined brilliantly that day – the leaves in the trees were pleasant to the ears of many who walked by it with themselves, loved ones, pets, etcetera; and upon the branches of those aforementioned trees, the morning birds that sang in tuneful chirps added up to the wonderful sounds of mundane living. The breeze that kissed everyone's skin sent chills through her spine; as always, the girl's side of the city had more provincial type of folk – which is one of the many reasons she loved residing here, even if her home is but one of the many rooms in a single apartment complex.

_A city in the provincial side of Japan famous for being the capital of the Aichi Prefecture…and a very peaceful, rural place along with a wonderful seaside. _

_I can't wait to see it…_

_…If I do see it…_

"_WAIT!_"

The heavy, rapid footsteps and the heavy breathing of a small framed girl carrying a backpack much too large for her said size pattered through the Tokyo Station's Shinkansen area. Droplets of sweat flew off the sides of her head as she frantically took each large step to her wanted destination. Her face and some hair strands were drenched – the weather was indeed undeniably chilly, but the luggage she brought with her to this overnight trip seemed to be too much for it to be considered under the category of 'pack light' (as instructed by the school in the Excursion orientation).

Okuda Manami wasn't one to be late – she was very punctual, in fact. But when it came to having your caretaker hungover on your kitchen table the next day after her night out with a chemistry teacher, there was no one left to take care of the mess except the supposed 'one being taken care of'. Manami had a feeling she was up all night bragging about her to her friends and fellow co-workers about the recent events for as the bespectacled chemist carried her to her bed, she would catch slurred lines like 'My girl's wonderful.' Or 'Your daughters are worth crap compared to my baby' and so on.

Thus explains her tardiness.

"Hurry up!"

The poison-lover's eyes rose to the doors of her car being held by a girl and boy. The former had walnut-toned hair styled in its usual ponytail and hazel brown eyes that fit perfectly with it – it was Orihara-san. The boy next to her who struggled as much as she did to keep the door wide enough for her to enter harbored a black crown and emerald eyes – it was Miyamura-kun.

"Come on, Okuda! Run!" yelled the boy as his arms shook from the amount of force he was putting into keeping that door open.

Manami did as told and sprinted at a faster pace as opposed to her already tired legs and back. With one swift movement with the sole of her left foot, she leapt just in time with a form that fit what was left of the door's access capacity. It was a success – thankfully nothing got caught in the shutting of the doors as Orihara and Miyamura let go of it with perfect coordination and timing as the car had begun to move; which resulted to the stumbling of the small girl with the large backpack to the wall.

"Uwoah!"

The heavy breaths of three students overpowered the mumbles and chitchat of the students of 1-C. Orihara let out a laugh after having regained enough air after all that hard work of hers "Hah~ Okuda-san, are you okay?" she turned her upper body to the braided girl on the floor; her glasses were disoriented from the floor – and she had to admit it was a little cute for the shy girl as she extended a hand to help her up.

The lavender-orbed female took a moment to stare at the hand offered to her for she wasn't entirely used to this kind of kindness "Th-…Thank you…" Manami took her hand and lifted herself up with the support given – it was a little troublesome with the bag, however; fortunately Miyamura took the initiative to relieve her back of its weight (it was lighter than it looked).

Orihara smiled at the shorter girl "Don't worry about it." She reassured and handed her her bag from the dark-haired boy. Manami took it with delight and smiled warmly at them – this feeling was foreign to her; she had never been treated this way by anyone in her classroom for the past months, and she couldn't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy inside at the two's sudden kindness towards her.

"Okuda-san you're clumsy as always, aren't you?" chuckled Miyamura with a hand behind his head after holding that door too long. Orihara giggled and joined in the conversation "But that's what makes her cute, doesn't it?"

As soon as the words registered in the bespectacled girl's understanding, it wasn't too long before a blush came up to her cheeks "Th-That's not true! Things like 'cute' d-don't fit me—"

The brunette had cut her off by squeezing her soft face with her hands "Don't be silly~" she teased as she moved her palms up and down to play with Manami's chubby-ish face – much to her discomfort, but it wasn't like it was harassment or anything, she just wasn't used to it.

"Orihara, let her go, she'd want to rest from all that running, after all." Miyamura pulled the enthusiastic girl away from the petite scientist from the back of her collar gently. The taller girl, in turn, put her hands together apologetically "Ahah! Sorry Okuda-san! Carry on." And the ponytailed girl stepped aside to make way for the small-framed girl and her ridiculous bag.

Manami lowered her head to somehow hide the idiotic smile she had on her face as she made her way to a vacant seat and set her things down. She had a little trouble with properly adjusting her bag in the luggage compartment due to her height – and there was still the fact that her arms still had bandages wrapped around them; even though a few days had already passed since _that_ incident, an injury as brutal as that isn't so good to time. But the problem had soon been dealt with by a fellow boy in her class not too far away from where she chose to sit. He had to go through the trouble of dropping his book and standing up to keep the bag from falling on her (or anyone else).

"Th-Thank you…" she uttered out with slight surprise. She wasn't so familiar with his name since she hadn't actually paid much attention lately, but the boy nodded nonchalantly and just went back to his reading session. And once again, she couldn't stop the edges of her lips from rising up.

_It's been this way for a while now…_ She caught herself thinking as memories from the day after her little 'episode' had resurfaced.

_The skies were clouded that day – not a single ray of sunshine seeped in through the window as it had been hidden away in a flurry of grey. And within a dim building on its 4__th__ floor, a frail girl with tired lavender orbs and aching arms slowly slid her classroom's door open with both hands (the injury hurt more after a night)._

_As soon as she had a view of her classroom, she hadn't the slightest expectation that there would be a small group of students waiting for her by her desk as they chatted – and there was one right now. _

_This had caught her off-guard – she was sure that after all the yelling and selfishness she had displayed the day before, she'd be avoided twice more than last time; but it seemed to be the opposite today._

_"Ah—…Hey Okuda-san!" said one boy – it was one of the folks that forced his science homework on her._

_Manami failed to respond as she just looked at them with droopy eyes exhausted from expending so much liquid recently, but there was still a hint of quizzicality in them. The group of students exchanged nervous glances but kept their attention to the chemistry geek. _

_"Ah…Okuda-san…uhh…We're uh…" the same boy cleared his throat to somehow shake away some of the monstrous guilt and uneasiness he felt eating away his insides "We're really sorry for uh…everything. Y-You don't have to forgive us really Aha—I mean…we were pretty terrible to you weren't we? So we just want you to know that we regret everything and uh…" he trailed off as soon as Manami heard a set of small and steady footsteps behind her. _

_"Okuda-san…" this voice was familiar – no doubt, it was the walnut-haired ponytailed girl Orihara Michiru. In the same second Okuda recognized it, she turned around – but all she saw was a very guilt-stricken brunette with her eyes downcast and her fingers intertwined behind her; she noticed how there was a bandage at the side of her cheek and couldn't stop herself from wondering where it came from until she'd been ever so suddenly given a bone-crushing hug by her taller classmate. _

_"I'm…" her mouth quivered not a second later as her face erupted into a tearful mess "I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING!" and from that point, Orihara bawled into her shoulder loudly (and knowing how loud the girl's voice was, it had nearly deafened Manami – and almost everyone in the room)_

_"We're really sorry Okuda!"_

_"We hope you find it in your heart to forgive us—Wait no! I take it back! You don't have to forgive us!"_

_The braided girl was taken aback at how abrupt the action was – most especially when another batch of apologies reached her ears from behind her. She had no idea what to do after that; how does one who is so used to apologizing to everyone else accept apologies from others? Heck, she couldn't even try putting her arms around the brunette for it hurt too much to even try moving them._

_In the middle of her state of bewilderment, a woman that walked across the hall of her classroom revealed herself for a short moment. She had maroon-toned pixie-styled hair – Inari-nee (to Manami) had stopped in her tracks just for a second and gave her a smirk before walking off after she commented genuinely-_

_"Good for you."_

The science nerd had finally settled herself comfortably on one of the vacant couches at the far back of her class' assigned car – each one had a table for convenience. Despite the finally cleared up troubles she's had with the classroom, that didn't exactly change the fact that they already had their own groups to attend to – naturally, she remained 'friendless', but that didn't mean she didn't start to get along with everyone else; and she didn't really mind being alone in the classroom.

After all, she has her club, and that's already more than enough.

A smile still on her features, Manami pulled out a few maps and tourist information guides from her blazer's pocket along with a tiny pen – careful not to have her arms get in the way of her grip as she gently did so. From there, she had begun taking note of a few things she would like to do – she made it a point to get the rice cracker cookies and visit some confectionaries Nagoya was so famous for (in fact, that was what she was most excited about)

Of course, the things she could do with her friends didn't slip her mind. Keeping them in mind, she encircled a few things on the map she would like to try out, but later she figured that they might just go with the flow and she'll just have to follow and expect nothing to have fun with it – that's what she learned in her time with them.

She couldn't stop her mind from wandering back into her last middle school trip – rather than plotting places to go to or see, they plotted areas that were best for the assassination of their teacher. Manami chuckled lightly at the weird thought of middle school students contemplating how to kill their teacher in a supposed 'happy' school event; though this had brought a glimmer of joy evident in the girl's face, that didn't stop any of the heart wrenching pain that had also started to throb within her chest – especially when the smiling face of a yellow octopus flashed in her mind.

Suddenly, poison geek spotted something from the corner of her eyeglasses – speaking of yellow, whatever it was that stared at her disturbingly from her table also had yellow on her.

"Nakamura-san…what are you doing?" Manami sweatdropped at the sight of the blond eyeing her creepily from the edge of the table similar to that of a pervert – or in other cases, the boogeyman (unless he is also a pervert). From what the chemistry maniac could see, Rio also hadn't taken off any of her bandages or dressings; but they had lessened.

A few seconds more of uncomfortable staring passed through, and the eyeglasses-ed girl was beginning to believe there was something behind her until she checked to see nothing but the dark wall of a tunnel. Manami was beginning to get a little worried as she turned her head back to the blond only to find her a little farther away with a mischievous smile spread across her face – yes, she was still staring at her, this time her eyes looked like stars under the shadow her hair cast above them.

"Uh…" was all the braided girl managed to say as the blond waved her hand as a gesture for her to come closer.

"_Come, come~_"

For a moment, it felt as if it was some creepy old man trying to kidnap a five year old kid with candy and a knife behind his back. But since Rio so insisted on having her come over to where she was currently backing away to (which was the washroom area that connected the cars), Manami didn't really see any harm and stood up to follow her – the stares were getting too creepy for comfort anyway.

* * *

"I got her!" Rio exclaimed into the class F car enthusiastically as the bullet train's doors slid open upon their arrival.

"Oh, great timing! We were just about to start." Sugino praised with a deck of cards within his possession. What Manami saw after she entered the foreign car were some of her club members gathered into one of the train's provided resting areas – only this one was much larger than the one designed for groups of four to five; perfect for big groups when they take the bullet train together. On one side sat the spiky-haired baseball player who looked to be rather lively today, and upon further inspection, the science geek noticed how his hands and left forearm had also been dressed with medical aids. Seated directly in front of him was Karma who leaned back in his lazy fashion along with that carefree grin of his – and like everyone else, his hands were still covered in medical dressing and a few bandages for his fingers and arms. But even if she had taken these things into account, the only other thought that overpowered the rest was—

_All of that was just to get me to play cards with you?!_

Manami shivered from behind her blond friend; blue lines went down her eye and the side of her head at the thought of the strange stares she pulled just to get her here – it felt as if she was being lured to a demon's cave as a sacrifice with what she had done. Could she not have done it normally? Did she think 'hey, Okuda-san, wanna play cards with us?' wouldn't cut it? Right now, she just didn't understand what it was that went through her friend's mind in doing that as she occupied the free space next to the redhead absentmindedly.

Karma took notice of this discomfort of hers "What's up? Your face looks weird." He stated ever so bluntly as he tilted his head from its rested position on the couch. The poison expert could only give a sigh with a half-hearted "Please don't mind it…" even though the prankster was still rather curious about it from how she said it, he assumed it wasn't anything important and shrugged it off

"What game are we gonna play?" Rio asked after settling herself to sit by Sugino and crossing her arms atop the table to rest her chin behind them with that lax personality of hers.

Before the boy in question could speak, in came the rest of their members as Yuzuki led the couple behind her with an active smile on her face. Hayami and Chiba had come in with her – their stoic appearances never wavered even with the energetic vibe any school trip brought with it.

"That's everyone~" the otaku chimed cheerfully as she and the others approached the table where the rest of their friends were. It was a happy get together for everyone as they waited for their train stop – until of course Yuzuki caught something not so pleasant within the group for the moment the orange-headed sniper walked in and made eye contact with the blond knifeman, the latter only averted her gaze and gave the serious girl the cold shoulder from that moment on as she rose from her lazed position on the table

Rinka, having also noticed how her fellow combat club member displayed no interest in talking to her or even interacting with her, could only avert her gaze as well – only hers was out of guilt. And of course, observant as he was, Chiba had caught a glimpse of this silent and subtle exchange. Yuzuki sighed; they've been that way since _that_ day – however, as there was nothing she could do at the moment, the mangaka wannabe just went over to sit on the same side Karma and Manami were as the other ginger followed and sat by the isle of the same seat to face her fellow shabby-haired gunman; she wouldn't want to sit directly in front of the golden-haired girl nor beside her.

"Ah, excuse me Karma-kun…" The addition of more people to their seats had resulted to the two by the wall to squeeze against each other. However, something odd had come up for the moment the raven-haired girl squeezed herself close enough for the other two to have space, the redhead next to her propped his elbow on the table as he rested his chin on his palm – his eyes shifted from her to the window in a split second as it stayed that way for the rest of the time. It was subtle and could be deemed as a simple everyday movement, but the chemist couldn't shake the feeling that he had done that to purposely bring in some distance between them; even if that was so, all she could do was stare at the back of his head quizzically.

"Alright, everyone's settled." Sugino looked around them with that never-fading smile of his and shuffled his cards "How 'bout a game of old maid for starters?"

"Sounds nice!" Yuzuki remarked ecstatically. The suggestion had aroused smiles on each of their features – even the snipers couldn't say no to the idea. Karma smirked as his eyes glinted evilly as he stretched his arms – clearly he already had some sort of diabolical strategy formed "Aw well, nothing suits me better than a cheap game like this one."

"Alright then, first I'll distribute the cards…" Sugino carefully passed each card to their sides of the table to avoid them from falling off the table.

After they had been distributed equally, Rio gave the redhead a smirk of her own as a challenge "Don't be so sure, Akabane" the blond snickered as she spread the cards in her hand – this only caused her grin to grow wider. As the two tricksters glare-off continued, Manami only sat there – not exactly familiar with the rules while she took time to get a good view of each of her cards.

The bespectacled girl prepared to inquire anyone for how to play the game until a set of whispers reached her ears.

"They're pretty battered up…" remarked one boy over the next table as he and his companions had their heads turned to their direction. Manami's gaze fell to her dressed arms – that must be what they meant; most of them still had their bandages and other injuries evident on themselves.

Unfortunately, she was not the only one who registered these whispers. Her friends had come to a quietude once the shy girl turned her attention towards them – they had their lids lowered and expressions that explained just how bad and fresh the memory still was. All of a sudden, the liveliness that radiated from their table died out and was replaced with a bitter feeling.

The chem maniac could only stare at them sympathetically as her eyes had gone half-lidded. They really were battered up – and it was because she wasn't trying hard enough to fix her problem and ended up getting everyone sucked into it; she was weak, and without their help she would've forever been trapped in the darkness and really end up all alone. But it was that kind of thinking that got her into it in the first place – she'd realized that now. So instead of wallowing in it any more-

"I'm…!"

Manami lifted her head and straightened her back as she grabbed the edge of her skirt. Her purple orbs glossed with determination as she uttered the next sentence strong heartedly.

"I'm…glad I have these." She gently took hold of one arm to indicate what she was talking about. "They remind me that I was strong for a moment…that I was able to get my feelings through to everyone." From this, the group had begun to show her soft smiles from the heartfelt words. "So I hope…you're also thankful for them!" her gaze did not falter even for a second.

"Guess you're right." Yuzuki was the first to respond with a nod of approval and a bright, genuine smile – the small-framed girl had learned her lesson, and the results were beautiful. It just proves that no one can teach better than experience does, and with experience comes a lesson that shouldn't fade away so easily. And from the back of her mind, the short-haired girl thought _'Just like in manga…'_

Karma however, had remained nonchalant throughout the time as he looked at the braided girl beside him. He was expressionless, but it was obvious that he was in deep thought as he observed her from the corner of his eye – his face was inscrutable, and Manami couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with him today for he had not spoken to her for the rest of the way.

"Oh, I won."

"Heh—What?!"

* * *

**Stop 1: Nagoya Castle**

"Ah…." Lavender eyes were wide with wonder behind the shine of a pair of spectacles as it reflected against a golden statue stationed above a shelf behind red ropes.

The students were now scattered about in the different attractions offered by the Nagoya Castle. The trip was rather carefree like most – right after the students of each class had been educated with the specific area for academic purposes, they were free to explore the other charms found around the location. As of now, in the fifth floor of this well-known structure stood a pair of students – one who was short, introverted and with hair styled in matching braids as the other was several inches taller, his hands inserted in his pockets with lazy mercury eyes that went well with his scarlet hair.

Manami had her hands formed into gentle fists right in front of her chest as she stared at the golden fish with a tiger head in awe – almost as if her eyes glossed with a glimmer of rainbow colors for a second.

Karma observed how she was so elated by it and wasn't able to stop himself from displaying an amused smile "You like the Shachihoko that much?"

The short girl nodded without sparing him a look "I think it's cute." Weird; For a girl who's very into scientific formulas and math works she found herself fawning over a superstitious statue said to bring rain – the type of weather she found very lonely. But she guessed people had different sides to them…

Just like him…

"Well then, take a picture of it." He suggested with a grin.

"Oh right!" Manami came to her senses and began searching for the camera that had been given to her for this trip – it was an old digital camera that looked to be secondhand; outdated as it was, it did well for its age.

"U-uh…" she stared at the device for a short while with a questioning look – she was familiar with how to use it rom observation, but since she hadn't really held one herself for quite a time, it wasn't a very regular experience for her.

"You don't know how to use a camera?" Karma tilted his head curiously at her direction – this only had the small girl's cheeks tint themselves red out of embarrassment as she quickly retorted.

"I-I know how!" she stammered but gave him a thumbs up as if to say _'Don't worry! I got this!'_ Karma only watched as the girl struggled to uncap the camera and push the button with a small yet amused smile played on his face.

"One…two…Shachi-chan smile!" she exclaimed before pushing the button and creating a flash – completely ignoring the sign that says 'No Flash Photography'. The redhead didn't mind the fact that she broke that rule (He was one to break rules himself) but _'Shachi-chan…?'_ he contemplated upon the weird name she made but shrugged it off; must be the extent of her love for it or something of the sort.

"Huh? It's all white…" she mumbled after she viewed the photo with bemused eyes. True, it was all white – all that could be deciphered from it were the tiny patches of gold that didn't even look good against the light of the flash. Karma took a glance at it and laughed lightly before extending his hand.

"Give it here, I'll fix it"

"S-Sorry…" she gently placed it in his palms feeling a little bad for having help her with such a simple thing; he only smiled slightly and reassured her "Don't mind it."

Manami watched him shift the camera's gears and play with the menu's options like it was no sweat at all. Her face had interest written all over with it as she tried to learn at the same time – unbeknownst to her, she had been leaning against him too closely in the midst of her observation; she only noticed this when the boy sharply took a step to the side to put a distance between them.

"Huh?" she muttered after he handed her the camera again – not even looking at her when he said "It's okay now." Briefly and walked away from her aimlessly (probably go over to where Sugino was); his hands went back to his pockets as he just left her there looking at him quizzically.

"Huh?" she repeated – weird, this sort of happened in the train earlier. Had she done something for this type of behavior? Probably not; he had just finished having another one of their regular conversations with one another. But still…

_Weird_

* * *

"Nakamura-san, you're still having a tantrum over what happened?" Yuzuki sweatdropped at the blond that had her arms crossed and her face formed into a pout – a vein popped on her forehead as she groaned. "Hmph. I knew it was off limits but they didn't have to reprimand me _that_ way." Her brow twitched in irritation at the memory of becoming the center of attention within a crowd of tourists right in front of the Warehouse located in the castle's Okefumaru due to some guards with their incessant rebuking.

The three girls including Manami were now by the food stands just outside of the monument. At long last, the braided girl had found what she was looking for. With a delighted grin, she gladly picked up the paper bag that now had the rice cracker cookies she had looked forward to since the beginning of the trip. She had to thank her two friends for leading her here – even if they did so while running away from a few guards. Too excited to leave it just behind her bag, she carefully inserted her cookies through her skirt pocket and carefully kept it tightly sealed within its tiny plastic jar – thankfully the skirt was just the right size for it, and it was comfortable enough to not be seen or felt too much.

"You tried to break into the Nogi warehouse…" Yuzuki replied with an exhausted smile as she picked up the paper bag of what she had bought from the sweets shop. Rio retorted quickly "They said it wasn't open to the public but it's standing right there! They must be hiding some sort of government conspiracy inside, maybe even some supernatural discovery!" she took her order of dumplings once hers had come up the table as she chewed on one, annoyed.

"Nakamura-san, you may have a point." Manami tried to reassure the girl by nodding her head in agreement "Considering what we've done last year, it wouldn't surprise me if something like that happened." She smiled and faced her companions with bright eyes.

"See?" Rio grinned proudly and put a hand on her waist as the other flipped one side of her hair to the back of her shoulder boastfully – additional cause for this reaction of hers is because the petite girl agreed with her eagerly.

The three were now walking down the Ninomaru Garden with their snacks in hand as they continued the conversation with the beautifully adorned bushes and flowers and other types of plants in view. Their reflections rippled on pond of coy fish they passed by due to the fallen petals and other leaves. The air was fresh as the scent of full bloomed flowers and greenery wafted through the cool breeze. The very soil they stepped upon was fertile and had grasses and other flowers of notable beauty.

Yuzuki took the time to ponder on her words with a finger upon her lips "Hm…maybe. But it's not gonna be a government conspiracy or supernatural discovery! If it were, America would've taken it to Area 51 for experimentation then pull human tests to create mutants that are either gonna destroy the world or form together as an alliance of justice! Even aliens from other universes are gonna come together with them! But soon after, they'll break apart and lead their separate lives as modern day folk. But that's not the end of it! They'll rise up together once again after a new, powerless protagonist musters up enough courage to get them back together! And he too, shall have powers of his own! This time it won't just be the fate of the world, but the fate of all the galaxies! And then! Before everything crumbles apart, the new protagonist and the childhood friend he grew up with that turned out to be an alien whom was a descendant of one of the prequel's heroes, take a chance under the crumbling of the sky as they confess their love to each other...and that's when things turn out for the better when all evil is vanquished by the sacrifice of a pure heart! And then, the ending goes as the love interest is the one whose sacrifice is botched by her own hands as she uses a mysterious power to become a goddess and recreate the entire world from scratch! And finally, the girl is not remembered for such a sacrifice as she is addressed as a myth!" as she said these, it was like the entire scene played behind her with the accompaniment of dramatic music and added effects with her narrating it in different voices that fit the mood. In the duration of this, Rio could only look at her with a sweatdrop by the side of her face and a smile that came along with it in contrast with Manami – whom only kept her eyes peeled and watched the girl go with piqued interest (even reacting to some of the melodramatic scenes)

"Fuwa-san, your deduction is amazing!" the dark haired girl praised as she planted a fist to her open palm and nodded in understanding.

Her other club member kept a hand to her waist as her mouth twitched up to a forced smile as she raised an eyebrow at how ridiculous yet somehow undeniably entertaining story "Sounds a little extreme don't you think?" Rio later commented in the back of her mind with _'Oh well, she knows her stuff.'_

The otaku crossed her arms and scoffed "The most that could be inside that outdated piece of wood's probably the dead body and secret mystery-solving treasures of a famous shogun of some sort – only helpful to some historian that would probably try to clear his or her name. Then the— Oh! It's Hayami-san!"

The three stopped in their tracks after the newcomer had been recognized. Indeed, it was Hayami Rinka with a few paper bags in hand unmistakably from food stands and other souvenir stalls. Her stoic face never faltered even after she had acknowledged their presence with a nod. She was heading the opposite direction they were – Yuzuki knows that where she would go, Chiba was there as well.

"G-Good afternoon, Hayami-san." Manami greeted a little nervously as she bowed her head a tad. However, Rinka did not return the address for once Yuzuki noticed how her emerald eyes moved to where a certain blond stood with her arms crossed and gaze averted, the sniper's serious surface dropped as it had been replaced with one of brood. A few more tense moments later, Rio sighed and walked right past her – and at almost the same time, the orangehead chose that time to continue her road opposite to theirs.

This short yet agitating scene only left the introverted scientist in a troubled yet confused state as she shifted her gaze between the two light-haired girls. "Uh—"

"Okuda-san, let's get going?" Yuzuki interrupted her before she could be able to inquire about it as she put her hands gently onto her shoulders and began to prod her to move forward.

"Eh—But—"she wasn't given any chance to voice out a retort for she had already been brought out of the garden with nothing but puzzlement written all over her features.

* * *

**Stop 2: Tokugawa Art Museum/Garden**

"It kind of has a scary face…" Manami observed as she leaned her head too close to one of the samurai statues' face with wide, studious eyes. It was a small replica of Oda Nobunaga during a battle with a somewhat cool-looking sword stance – his eyes were wide with fury as his wrinkles were evident with the accompaniment of what appeared to be a battle snarl; she'll have to praise the wax artist for such detail. Despite having said that the doll had a scary face, she didn't say it wasn't worthy to be a part of her first year high school excursion photo album.

With a bright smile, the girl took her camera from its hiding in her blazer pocket and took an (she deemed it to be) okay picture. Her grin grew wider when she got a good view of it and actually thought it wasn't that bad compared to the other times – she had to thank Karma for fixing it for her.

Speaking of the devilish red-haired boy, just right after the thought of thanking him came to mind, there he was inside the samurai merchandise gift shop; from the looks of it, he was examining some of the mock-katanas that were being sold – he must be thinking about what he could do with them if he bought one, and the geek couldn't be more sure that it was for something not really legal.

But seeing this as a chance to say thank you for his help just a stop ago, she skipped over to the shop and opened the glass door with the amusing wind chimes.

The white, cemented floor was decorated with columns of shelves and hangers for clothes, dolls and other samurai-related products. On the second to the last column was the mischievous boy she'd spotted crouched down to check out a few things in the bottom tier of that certain ledge.

Before she could even call out to him, he already recognized her from the sound of her light but audible footsteps. Karma turned his head "Yo, Okuda-san." He said quite cheerfully before turning back to what he had in his hands.

"Karma-kun." She returned his greeting with a warm smile and looked to see what he had with an inquisitive tilt of her head "Is that…Tokugawa Shogun's katana replica?"

"Yep. But it's just a replica. Not sharp at all – more like just a cosplay prop or something." He responded with a mock pout, but the disappointment was still present. Manami laughed a little nervously at this "You can't buy a real katana…"

"Aw, that's not fun; so much for a samurai shop." He chuckled at her words and pushed through with his examination of the other swords present there – all were the same, blunt and not worthy to be used as a device for murder; but despite knowing this, he proceeded to go about it as it reminded him of assassination days – what's more, a good idea might come up just by looking at them.

"Karma-kun, you're not really thinking about taking someone's life with something like that?" she had crouched down beside him now as she too had begun to eye the swords with reminiscence – their knives could be compared to these toys; they were rubber and blunt.

"Is that a bad thing?" he snickered and turned to see what her face would look like after those words – probably a pout saying 'of course it's not' or something. But once he shifted his stare to her, he was caught off guard by the proximity of their faces as his eyes grew wide within a split-second.

Manami panicked when his head hit the shelf at his sudden jerk backwards.

* * *

The skies above the Tokugawa garden were bright and clear of clouds for it had reached afternoon. The sun that shined across the vast plain of green and many more colors gave the garden its true beauty. The flowers that were in full blossom were the most eye-catching of all – what with the radiant colors that gave the garden itself life and fragrance, one could not stop themselves from sitting back to relax and enjoy the view nature's got to offer; to take a whiff of the bloomed petals of the peonies or adore the cute buds that were yet to reveal their splendor, but albeit the undeniable attractiveness of the entire area, it didn't make the shy science lover move her gaze from the redhead that explored through it.

Her eyes were half-lidded from her deep thoughts as she crouched underneath the shade of a tree. Her lavender orbs followed each movement he made – her lips had formed into a thin line with her chin right above the hands that were entwined on top of her knees.

_I wonder…_

Her face sunk deeper behind her knees as her eyes were the only ones that could be seen from her position. The braids of her hair puffed a bit at the upward motion of her shoulders as she continued to observe him – how he mingled with others and how he would stray away when it got boring…

"Yo, Okuda." A familiar voice came by – it was Sugino. He had approached her from her left side and stopped not too far away from her under the shade of the same tree. She didn't respond to this and continued with her staring – her eyes were lost in contemplation. After the spiky-haired boy took this into account, he couldn't help himself from asking her about it since it could be another problem.

"What's bothering you?" he tilted his head a little with concern laced in his voice.

Manami took a few more moments before replying with a muffled voice "Karma-kun's acting weird…"

"Weird…?" Sugino raised an eyebrow and turned his head to where the redhead was at the moment – only to find him enjoying himself with a few of his classmates. His smile extended from ear to ear as his eyes looked menacing and demonic underneath the shadow of his hair; in his hand was a beetle that appeared to be not only poisonous but also quite frightening with its large pincers. From the looks of it, he was teasing the lot of boys with the bug by bringing it closer to them to scare the crud out of their pants as he would hear things like "STOP KARMA!" or "YOU LUNATIC KEEP THAT AWAY FROM PEOPLE!" but as these demands kept piling up, it only tempted the devil-boy to inch it closer to one of them and eventually let it fly into their faces and bring them to a hilarious confusion.

"…Looks pretty normal to me." Sugino sweatdropped as a wary smile replaced the horizontal line upon his face.

The girl hugged her knees tighter in distraught "But…he's been acting weird around me." How concerned and troubled she was had been written all over her uncertain, muffled voice. The boy standing next to her raised his eyebrows "What do you mean?"

By this time, Manami lowered her head so her hair hovered above her glasses which glinted through the sunlight and masked her upset eyes "Lately, I feel like he's been staying away from me…he talks to me normally but then all of a sudden he just backs away and leaves me to wonder what happened…" her tone sounded hopeless with her next words "I don't understand…"

Sugino sympathized with her for a bit and got himself thinking. First of all, it was a big improvement on Okuda's part to be able to open up this much to anyone – he'll give her a point for that. But the main deal here was why she thinks that way. He couldn't quite get his finger around it as he caught himself also looking at his redheaded friend with furrowed brows. His blue orbs went back to his small friend as they took in how helpless she looked to be at the moment.

"You want me to go talk to him?" he offered with a smile as the braided girl lifted her head slowly to give him small look of question.

"I can talk to him about it if you want." As if it was a form of cheering her up just a bit, he used his thumb to point to himself with a wink to let her count that he could get it covered for her.

That was when Manami came back to her senses and fell with an 'oompf!' from her crouched position as she waved her hands frantically in front of her "E-e-Eh?! N-No need—!"

"It's no sweat, don't worry about it." He reassured her once more as he helped her up by the wrist – but careful enough not to get on the bad side of her injury.

Truth be told, the mini scientist was grateful for his offer, in the end she gives in to it.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Stop 3: Nagoya TV Tower**

"Hey, Fuwa-san…" Manami began with an uneasy voice as she and the mangaka wannabe leaned on the balcony for the view of the city.

Once more, students scattered themselves about in the tall building doing whatever pleases them with the time they've been given after lecture. Some students would create small commotions from giving each other mock pushes off the edge whilst others would take their time to take in the breeze found from the height of the tower. Then there were others that just stayed in placed with friends and took their time with whatever common things found around.

Yuzuki turned to her bespectacled friend and released the Dango stick she grabbed back in the castle from her mouth. "Hm?"

"They've been that way ever since then. Shouldn't we do something about it?" at first the otaku was puzzled with what the girl was going on about until she followed where her purple orbs were focused at.

A girl with bright, strawberry blond hair that danced with the wind had her elbows propped on the railings of the TV tower's sky balcony – judging from her face, it didn't look like what she was thinking was something all that pleasant; it was what you would pass as 'blank' but there was a negative vibe floating about. The same went for an orangehead that had her arms crossed upon the fence, not a spec of emotion found on her constant unsmiling face – however, her eyes were downcast and had a sense of yearning to them. Both girls had gone far away from each other ever since they encountered one another _again_.

Yuzuki frowned and sighed as she was about to speak until the other girl next to her spoke up again – her hands were intertwined in front of her as her brows furrowed with concern; her eyes glued to the floor as she said "I…I don't want them to hate each other. They're both…really good friends."

The taller female presented her with a small smile "I don't think they hate each other at all."

"Eh? How can you say that?" Manami curiously switched her head to face her short-haired friend from their relaxed positions on the balcony rails.

"It's because of what happened. The difference in their personalities has a huge gap – that's why they ended up clashing when it came to their view on how things should be done. This is just the result of that clash; they've acknowledged the difference between them. But if they someday will be able to agree on something the same way then…I think they'd be really good friends." Yuzuki's smile lingered on the last set of words that escaped her mouth.

The girl with the matching braids pursed her lips – still a tad bit worried. Fuwa, having noticed this wasted no time in reassuring her "But it's not in our hands what happens to them. I think it's best to leave them like that for now, they'll eventually come to, I guess. Well, we can hope for that, at least."

"Mm…" the small-framed girl only nodded, but there was no doubt she was still unconvinced by her answers. But her thoughts came to an abrupt pause when she realized just how high she was after looking down for quite a while.

Suddenly, a turning started inside the bespectacled girl's stomach as she felt her eyesight begin to blur more even with the help of the glasses. After a small sickened sound and a cover of her mouth, she said "I think I feel a small…vomiting sensation forming…" with another gag, Yuzuki had been put into a panic

"O-Okuda-san!" she yelped when both of the other girl's hands went to her mouth.

But that was when Manami felt the back of her collar being dragged away from the edge gently – but with enough force and abruptness to cause her to lose balance for a while.

"What are you doing? Don't look down if you're afraid." The voice was all too familiar – lazed and evidently bored, but it was serious. The second the poison-lover turned her head to look at her scarlet-haired friend, he had already let go of her clothes and walked to where Chiba looked out the city with those sharp yet non visible eyes of his.

At this, Manami could only stare on as his back shrunk from her view with distressed eyes and furrowed brows that wanted to know what was up with him.

"That right now…was he scolding you?" Fuwa wondered aloud as she too kept her eyes locked on him with quizzical features.

The shy chemist bit her lip as she watched him interact normally with everyone else. What made her so different today? Is he still mad about that day – he didn't seem like it, and she thought it'd been dealt with smoothly. What was going through his mind after that?

_I don't understand._

Her thought process had been interrupted by yet another arousal of a sick feeling that turned her stomach in a nasty way "E-E-Excuse me Fuwa-san I'll…" a growl came from her stomach; and the brunette didn't think that sounded very good "'ll have to excuse myself!"

Without a second passing, Manami dashed across the few groups of people including Sugino – whom was walking towards them until the running girl passed him by – and turned right to where the stairs were, eventually she disappeared from everyone's sight and left the witnesses with something to laugh about.

Sugino stared at the set of stairs where the small girl had escaped to with a raised eyebrow "What was the hurry for?" his question was directed at Yuzuki who chuckled at the scene "Don't mind it."

After a few more moments, the short-haired brunette leaned back on the rails – only to have her eyes tainted with disgust when she saw a couple cuddling and flirting about with one another; she scoffed at this as her brow twitched after the click of her tongue.

The baseball-boy that watched things from not too far away took notice of this clear displeasure of hers "What's up?"

"Damn people with their PDA. Why can't they choose more remote places to share their love for each other like in most shoujo manga; at least there it's felt more – this is just sick." Her tone was cold and judgmental as she narrowed her eyes on other couples that did the same.

Sugino laughed sheepishly "Well, this _is_ Nagoya TV tower – it's been known for couples to enjoy views like this one."

Yuzuki scoffed again – this time it was unintentional, but she didn't regret it "These types of couples make it look like love is all about sunshine and rainbows; it makes my head ache. It feels like…sickening, melodramatic, Romeo and Juliet style romance." At the last seven words, the girl's bangs went over her face and covered half of it with a dark shadow as a few veins popped on her forehead.

"What type of romance do you like then, Fuwa-san?" the dark-haired boy positioned himself beside her on the railings. But the moment Fuwa turned her head and saw how he smiled at her with inquisitiveness, the wind blowing through along with the clear view of his face given to her by the afternoon sun, she couldn't help the puny blush that reached her cheeks. Thinking quickly, she averted her eyes to the floor to hide her face – although a bittersweet smile could still be seen as she said her next sentence.

"I'm…not that in to romance."

* * *

**Now before you execute me for that...HAHA I JUST MADE A WEIRD SHIP LOL**

**Ahehehe okay I'll stop. Don't kill me please ;w;**

**Okay, as always, I hope you found some enjoyment with this chapter! I'm REALLY sorry it took long, but hey wait a few minutes while I post the next one after leaving you with such a scene 8""D**

**With lots of love, ~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**

**Hehe pretty short ender since I'm saving it for the next one X'3**


	9. Chapter 9

**HERE'S THE END OF ARC NOT TOO LONG AFTER I POSTED~ (See, I keep promises ^-^)**

**Now before you go I'll have to warn you that some parts were written when I had a headache or writer's block so I'm sorry if that displeases you. But I pushed myself to write this fast~! Because yeah it was originally supposed to be all in one chapter but yeah. If I let you gulp down too many events it might be bad ;w;**

**So yeah just warning that. But I hope you enjoy this as much as I did anyway~! ^w^ **

**Disclaimer: I DONT OWN ANSATSU KYOUSHITSU/ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM ARE YOU HAPPY**

* * *

**Chapter 9: School Excursion and Growing Feelings (The Night) [END OF ARC]**

"I feel something weird…behind my back..."

"Me too…it's coming from my left side…"

"There's something amiss…and I feel goosebumps on me…"

The freshmen have now gathered themselves in the mess hall for supper time in the small hotel next to the Nagoya Forest – the food was served in a buffet style so students would come and go whenever they pleased. The hotel wasn't all that fancy; it had Japanese style rooms, a wooden floor and clean white walls. The rooms were separated accordingly with three for each gender – girls occupied the left side of the building as boys took the right. In the mess hall, tables were arranged in a regular restaurant style; some were round, some were rectangular. Other chairs were for dining as the tables by the wall had couches for people to sit on – that being said, the students on most of the chairs – whom now had changed into their P.E attire (composed of a green T-shirt and dark jogging pants) had an aura of uneasiness floating about them like a translucent, dark blue-ish purple sea as they had their attention paid to the stoic couple by the buffet table.

"Hayami, you should eat the salmon. It's good for you." Chiba pointed to the other tray with the seafood along with it condiments.

The girl he was with responded with a nod "Roger. But you should eat your carrots. You're aim's been getting rusty." She bluntly stated as she took what her companion suggested.

"When did that become the topic of discussion?" his tone was as dull as his last sentence; there was only but a spec of inquiry laced in it.

"I care about it okay. Stop asking me stupid things." They continued with that kind of talk for a few more minutes as the audience behind them seemed to have backed away a little. It was like everyone had the same face by just watching them – empty, white eyes with blue lines travelling down their heads.

_Are they dating or what?!_

On the table in the far corner of the room next to the wall, Karma and Sugino watched the couple and their audience – the former had an amused smile whereas the latter sweatdropped with a smile of pity.

"Looks complicated…" the darker haired boy commented upon further observation of how the two serious snipers interacted with each other – it must be their form of 'affection' perhaps; but last he heard they were presumably dating…_presumably_

The prankster directly in front of him laughed at this – to see the two trying to be a 'potential couple' to the eye of the public was one of the most amusing things he'd seen up to date. Although he wasn't one to be considered interested in these kinds of things, it somehow brings joy to his sadistic heart to see these two and their audience.

"Oh, by the way Karma-kun." Sugino interrupted his thoughts and had the redhead turn his attention to him with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Did anything happen with Okuda?" this caught Karma a little taken aback, but he kept his cool composure and replied as if it was another mundane conversation – it was, but in some way or another he found it not so common when the discussion involved the braided introvert lately.

"Why do you ask?"

"She says you've been acting weird recently. Anything you know about that?"

Karma rested his head on his knuckles as he propped his elbow in the table – his eyeballs moved to the side as he remained silent; an indication that he wasn't exactly in the mood for this.

Sugino raised an eyebrow with mild suspicion "Did you two have an argument or something?"

Before he could respond, a small commotion erupted over at the buffet table and grabbed the attention of the conversing duo. Speak of the devil, it was the poison glasses going through a mild panic as she nearly dropped her tray after bumping into Rinka – that, and there was the addition of her inability to carry things properly.

"S-Sorry!" she exclaimed a little nervously as she pulled herself to a balance with the help of her orange-headed friend. Karma watched as they exchanged a few more words that couldn't be well heard from his distance; but it was obvious that the shorter girl was still conscious when it came to their female sniper. Later came the other two she hung out with most of the time, but he didn't miss how the two light-haired girls seemed to have some kind of conflict between them. Despite catching on with this, he shrugged – it was their problem anyway, he'd rather not expend energy on it.

"We didn't have an argument. It's just…" he trailed off as soon as they arrived to their spot in the mess hall with their trays of food in hand. She was looking at him with a smile of uncertainty – and his lids lowered a bit.

"Yo." Yuzuki was the first to greet them as she set herself down on the table; before she could do so however, Karma lifted himself off his seat and headed towards one of the boy's dorms with a yawn and stretch of his arms to the back of his head.

"E-Eh? You're not gonna eat?" the otaku raised an eyebrow at his sudden departure and only sighed when he replied with "Not hungry." And a lazy wave of his arm.

Sugino frowned when he didn't finish – and here he assured Manami that he'd talk to him. Speaking of which, the girl only moved her gaze downwards hopelessly when he left after she came to him – her head was in an entanglement of feelings and logical thoughts as she settled herself on the table; barely displaying any enthusiasm towards her meal.

And as sharp as she always was (especially when it came to things like these), Rio eyed the bespectacled chemist with a mix of concern and interest.

* * *

The tuneful whistles of a redheaded teenager drifted through the barely populated halls to the boy's dormitory. The wooden floor creaked with his relaxed footsteps as they made 'pad' sounds through the hollow material.

He was alone with his thoughts on his solitary path to one of the rooms. He was aware of what Sugino wanted to talk to him about and wasn't all that surprised when he heard how she opened up about it to him. Moreover, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bad for keeping away from his short friend and leaving her clueless like that; but he found himself not being able to control himself when the situation arose. Lately, he found himself getting a head ache from thinking about it too much – it all began after that incident. He lost his cool, got eaten by frustration and even had something unwanted on his face twice in a day; all of which, because of her.

_I need a break from that girl…_ he deadpanned at the thought as he slid the door open.

No, he was not surprised by the yelling or the group of men having some sort of brawl in the corner of the room (through a game of Karuta). No, he was not surprised when he found them having a 'formal discussion' on the women of their year with flushed faces (yes, Okajima was one of them). Lastly, he was barely even moved by whatever creepy photos or magazines they brought with them on an 'education school trip' as he entered – the lax grin and aloofness of his character had returned.

"Oi! Karma-kun! Come over here!" Karma saw this coming. Okajima had called him over to the group with the formal discussion holding a paper with a few girls and their names scribbled on it – the usual thing a group of boys of a co-ed would do when gathered into one room; this happened everywhere really.

The ginger found nothing else to do and just went with the flow of things. "What's this now?" he smiled even if he knew what was going on.

"Hah! This guy's already got a flock of girls coming for him already!" cackled one of them teasingly as he wiped a tear from his eye – he was soon after prodded by another one of them with the back of his hand "That just makes asking him all the more interesting!"

Karma hadn't exactly familiarized himself with his classmates – he found them much too 'normal' to ever be compared to his classroom of assassins from last year. Therefore he was indifferent with each of them as he didn't bother to get most of their names. When extraordinary things happen in your life, it's hard to pick up the pieces of a life once known.

"So, Akabane, is there a girl you like?" Oh it wasn't the first time he heard this question. Heck, the last time was just in middle school exactly a year ago. And if he remembered correctly his answer was-

O…...ku…...da…...

"Nope~" he kept his composure with a shrug and answered in the cool way he always dealt with things as he lay on the tatami with blithe – this earned him breakout of laughter from the few boys and even the ones from the Karuta section joined in; others however, got into childish angry fits as the rest went into tears.

"You can't be serious!"

"'Nope' he says! And yet the beautiful Touka-chan from class A is head over heels for him!"

"It pisses me off more when guys like him say that when there's a mob willing to kill for him!"

Karma smirked sadistically at how much suffering he had caused the group of males – oh the joys of manipulating people.

This joy had dissipated the moment a certain perverted schoolmate of his butted in.

"But didn't you answer Okuda-san last year? She goes to our school, doesn't she?" Oh if only anyone knew how good it would feel for Karma to rip his jaw off then and there. His mouth twitched upwards from irritation along with a shadow that loomed on his bloodthirsty eyes.

It only irked him more when the others in the room had started to comment on this statement – it only grew more as each one had filled his ears and he found himself clenching his teeth in annoyance.

"Hm, now that I think about I _do_ find them hanging out most of the time."

"And aren't they clubmates too? Also, wasn't Karma the one that she mentioned when she had an outburst the other day?"

His narrowed eyes grew wide once the topic had been switched to the specific happening where it all started. His body stiffened from the shock; the relaxed form he had had died away, especially when the next remark came.

"And rumor has it he was caught blushing at the time."

_Shit._

Okajima jolted at the words and crawled over to the redhead with that sleazy grin of his "What?! Karma-kun and blushing?!" This time, Karma's eye twitched – why must rumors spread like wildfire in this school? Right now, he was just about ready to punch the living lights out of everyone in the room.

"How many girls ha—mmphf!" the perverted boy had (finally) been shut up once Karma grabbed his jaw and squeezed on it mercilessly as he smirked viciously – his eyes looked like they were glinting with evil as his brow still twitched from the aggravation he had toward the topic.

"Don't assume things, Okajima. If you like living, don't stick your nose in someone else' business." He wasn't just directing this warning glare at the man in his hold, but the words and his dark aura went across everyone in the room – this led to everyone having some silent agreement to drop the subject (they'll get killed if they don't)

"Y-You're right, Akabane could be just playing around with that."

"Aha, yeah! There's no way it's Okuda after all. And he did say no one so of course it's no one."

After a few more moments of pain, the sadist finally let the poor boy go; but not at all in a gentle fashion as he leaned back on the nearest wall to cool himself off. After he breathed an exasperated sigh, Karma stayed silent and had not been inserted into a few conversations for a while – finding this boring and a complete waste of his time, he stepped out; he could've sworn sighs of relief were released the moment he did.

'…he's blushed at the time' he grit his teeth once the words played again as he balled his fists and quickened his pace a little.

_'That was a minor setback of mine – _

_It won't happen again.'_

* * *

Rio and Manami were the last ones to leave the mess hall.

"Aw well, so much for dessert. And here I really wanted a taste of that choco-banana pie." The blond pouted as she stretched her arms in front of her and crossed them upon her chest

The shy science-lover smiled, slightly let-down that they didn't get a chance to grab some for themselves "Well, there wasn't anything we could do. Everyone else in our year seems to love them." She walked behind her respectfully. In the midst of their stroll to the dorms, Manami took the time to see if her cookies were still in good shape inside her jogging pants – pleased that there weren't much crumbs or broken biscuits, she happily put the jar back in its hiding.

"If it was such a moneymaker they should've added up their stocks for it" Rio carried on with her complaints while they made their way back to the rooms – that was until something interesting caught her eye and she halted in her steps; this resulted to the small girl behind her to stumble back a bit.

"Uwoah! Na-Nakamura-san wha—"

"Sh." She put a finger to her own mouth and winked at her bespectacled friend. Slowly, she pulled Manami with her as they snuck up on a certain girl with brown hair leaning by the wall – she appeared to be staring at someone while taking cover from it.

"I thought Fuwa-san went to the room…" Manami whispered into the taller girl's ear once she got the message she had to be stealthy so as to not get caught. Rio didn't answer and persisted to have a look at what what exactly her anime-loving friend had her eye glued on. Once the mischievous girl had gotten a glimpse of what it was – rather, _who_ it was – her curious smile had changed into a malicious grin; the braided girl had to admit it looked exactly like Korosensei's face whenever he had green stripes on his big yellow head.

Wondering what it was that got her two friends so intrigued, Manami leaned her head a little more and was a little surprised to find Sugino there talking with a few of his classmates; acting like his usual self. The poison glasses had a bit of trouble catching one with things, but the second she had, Rio crept her way behind the mangaka wannabe in the same type of disturbing way she got the dark-haired girl to play cards – heck, the same expression was there as she inched behind her eavesdropping friend.

Yuzuki only noticed something odd when a low "Hohohohohohohohohooo…" came from behind her. Before the poor victim of this unusual scene could turn around…

"EEP!"

* * *

Two hands had already grabbed her shoulders and dragged her away in a fashion similar to that of a horror movie.

"I never came across the thought that you would like Sugino-kun…_Fuwa-san_~" The golden haired girl mused and found it priceless when the girl seated seiza style in front of her puffed her cheeks and looked away – clearly she was not amused by the turnout of things.

The three were now gathered in one of the girl's dormitories around the square table on the floor. Manami and Rio sat on one side and left Yuzuki on the other for (as Rio put it) 'proper questioning' but the raven-haired chemist just considered it gossip and went with it for the time being – but to say she was not astonished by this discovery would be a big lie.

The brunette grumbled "I've been found out…" and with a sigh she faced the two of them; noticeably feeling unpleasant "Well, what of it then? We all know who he likes anyway." She looked away with a displeased pout and crossed her arms.

Rio rested her cheek on her knuckles with her elbow on the table as she hummed to get something together in her mind "Hmm, I heard she's attending an all-girls high school right now – I mean, she _did_ have terrible luck with men." She said it in a matter-of-fact tone; the other two couldn't agree more for they had simultaneously said "Mhmm…" as the image of their poor class beauty being played around with men popped up.

Manami pondered a bit on their finding. _Fuwa-san likes Sugino-kun…_

_…like…like…_

She thought about the word and wondered how it's like to be able to feel that for someone. '_It must be a nice feeling…'_ she was only able to think this because of the things she'd often see on TV and other posters where people are smiling because they're with the opposite sex in a romantic relationship.

"But for some reason…I kind of feel happy for you, Fuwa-san." The words slipped out of her mouth like nobody's business – but they were honest; she really felt like liking someone had to be a really nice thing.

"Don't say that please…I might want to punch you…"Yuzuki, however, didn't take this as a compliment and gave her a broken smile as her eyes seemed to have bags under then from the sudden change of mood. Instead of this lifting her heart, it was the complete opposite for it felt like she just got shot by a machine gun after hearing that from her straightforward yet way too polite friend.

"Bitter, aren't we?" Rio snickered as her hands were now on both sides of her cheek teasingly as she raised an eyebrow at her friend going through a 'one-sided love dilemma'.

"You're no exception." A vein grew on her forehead as she said the words with a low and dangerous tone – but this only made the blond scoff and continue with her musings "But Sugino-kun's really nice though, I can imagine how you've come to like him. And you sat pretty close to each other too." She closed her eyes and nodded at her presumptions; to which Yuzuki did not waste time in retorting to.

"T-That's not it! It's just that…" she averted her gaze again and puffed her crimson cheeks from embarrassment. Not too long after she trailed off, her hands went to her head as she pulled on some of her hair "AGGHH!Let's put an end to this talk already! Because in other news, what the hell was _that?!_" she slammed her hand on the table this time as she pointed accusingly at her blond gossip-loving clubmate – her eyes now resembled one of those angry chibi faces you see in anime as her mouth seemed to have canine teeth "What was up with that horror movie trope thing you did to get me here?! Couldn't you have done it in a normal way?! That was really freaking creepy Nakamura-san!"

Rio turned to the side with a pout after clicking her tongue "Tsk, you just don't want to talk about your tragic love. Boring~" she even yawned to stress on the last word.

"GAHK!" Yuzuki slapped her face _hard_ with both hands as an attempt to cover her blushing face and as a result of being caught in the art of changing the subject as she fell backwards and hit the floor face first from embarrassment – if you squint, you'd be able to see some steam coming from the sides of her head.

"Fu-Fuwa-san! Keep it together! I-I'm sure Sugino-kun sees you as a very good friend!" Manami cheered for her with worry all over her features when she saw this type of reaction. _'Liking someone must be a mysterious wreck of emotions…'_ she observed this from her friend who now had some comical tears flowing out after she tried to encourage her.

"O-Okuda-san…you don't say that to anyone in a situation like this…" her blond friend sweatdropped after her exclamation for a while.

Once Yuzuki got herself back together, Rio had started another conversation just in time "Hm…I've been thinking lately, why don't we start calling each other by our first names?"

This caught the attention of the other two as they turned to her quizzically "First names?" Manami was first to speak after that and was followed by her otaku friend "Sure, why not?" Secretly, she'd thought _'At least the topic changed_.' As a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Rinka, who had been overhearing everything from the very beginning as she sat quietly with a book in the corner, gave out a small, disturbed hum once they had started with this. With the sudden urge to leave the area, she stood from her spot and slowly walked out of the room – she didn't notice how her form had been followed by a pair of curious purple eyes.

_'Hayami-san…'_

"Well, I'll start calling you Manami-chan then!" the braided girl's shoulders jerked up after her name had been called and interrupted her thoughts. She sharply turned to the light-haired trickster that called her that with small lavender orbs shrunk behind a pair of glasses "M-M-M-M-M-Manami-ch-ch-ch-ch-c-chh-chan?!" she stammered as a shadow seemed to form on her forehead.

"So, _Manami-chan_, you'll have to call me Rio-chan~" she waved her hand in a 'just do it' motion as her face smiled brightly. Yuzuki decided to help out "Do it like this: Rio-chan~"

"Thank you very much, Yuzuki-chan!" Rio winked at her in appreciation for the helping hand as both turned to check the results.

All they saw was the girl being told to do so stammering and fidgeting around her seat in discomfort. "R-R-R-R-Riiii-o-chaa…..Y-Y-Y-Y-Yu—zki-ch-chaaa-a…" it was obvious that the girl couldn't even speak well enough to say such simple words – she was way too used to addressing _everyone_ by their last name. In fact, the two had to admit she looked terrible at the moment; eyes were wide as if hunted, her shoulders tensed up as she grabbed onto her jogging pants and shuddered as each letter forced itself out – for a moment, she could've been compared to a ghost and not much difference would be found. Rio finally raised her hand in front of the girl and smiled uncomfortably "Well let's leave it at that for now." In all honesty, what the girl was doing had started to become scary.

"O-Okay…" Manami took a deep breath and straightened up on her cushion. For some reason, her face had begun to hurt, but she decided to leave it alone as it really didn't do much harm.

"Anyway, I've noticed something." The blond started a new conversation; but this time the mood had changed somewhat which gained her the attention of the two. Rio tilted her head to her palm as she rose an eyebrow at the girl beside her "What's up with you and Karma-kun?"

"H-Heh?" the eyeglasses-ed girl blinked, taken aback by the suddenness of her question.

"I saw it during supper time; has he been that way all day?" she read her like a book and took her frown as a 'yes'. Yuzuki also found herself intrigued by this and listened in.

"Mm…" Manami started with a nod; she saw this as a chance to finally relay this problem of hers to them – she still had that 'I don't want to bother you' business lingering about in her habits, but her situation now had her mind boggled up so she had to speak up or she fears things might get worse. She kept her head down for the next few moments as her eyes traveled to her memories.

"Ever since that day…I think he's been acting weird around me. He would talk to me like the usual but something always felt off about it…like he's always looking at everything I do now. Then when I just get a little close he just backs away really quickly then leaves me alone, so I might be wrong about that one. Then I had the feeling maybe he was still mad at me because I notice him go away whenever I come, but I also thought maybe not because he still talks to me…" she paused and let a few scenes from her incident flash for split seconds – the walk home, his angry face and finally his form walking home. She watched her fingers tighten around themselves as she said her last words downheartedly "…I don't understand him at all…"

After keeping their ears open for her, the two girls exchanged a few looks, back to their friend in distraught then to each other again. Yuzuki pulled Rio away from the table and crawled not too far away from it to start whispering amongst themselves hoping Manami would stay distracted by her thoughts while they had a brief discussion.

"Rio-chan, could it be because of 'that'?" she whispered it to her as if they were secret agents, but that didn't stop the other from following the lead "It must because of 'that'. No doubt about it." They both knew exactly what they were pertaining to – 'that' means the rare occurrence of the redhead matching the color of his crown from the chin up; yes, blush.

"Yes, you're right." Rio nodded as if she had hit a big eureka but kept her tone in a whisper to not attract attention from her lost small-framed clubmate "Knowing Karma-kun, after what had happened, he'd avoid the _cause_ of 'that' A.K.A…" both turned to the distressed girl by the table who now had her hands occupied as she played with a single braid. They nodded in understanding and crawled back to the table – but this time they left Manami alone on her side.

By this time, the female trickster already had something up her sleeve as she grinned with mock innocence "You should go talk to him when you get the chance."

"I should but…" her eyes moved side to side and she fidgeted once more "What if he—"

"You'll know what to do when the time comes. I'm sure of it." Rio reassured her with a thumbs up which the small girl returned with a half-hearted smile.

Yuzuki however, had seen right through this _'You're totally gonna set them up and get a good laugh from it, aren't you?"_

"Well, speaking of Karma-kun." Their blond schoolmate lifted herself from her seated position and stretched her arms up "I haven't been able to get back at him because of everything that's happened. So now…" another devious grin stretched her cheeks up.

"Now, Manami-chan…"

"Eh…?"

* * *

"Why did you do that in the first place?" Sugino had a wary expression upon his features as he walked side by side with his demonic prankster friend back to their dorms after catching a small drink.

"Recently, I've found a new joy in manipulating of old women…" at that, it was almost as if the devil's tail wagged behind him as the wicked grin on his face only appeared to grow darker. Ah yes, it was thanks to a particular caretaker of a fragile girl for this new pastime of his – he realized he enjoyed it too much to let it just stick to her (of course he still enjoyed it when the maroon-crowned nurse had every fiber in her body ready to murder him).

"You pissed her off with depressing singlehood jokes I didn't even know you knew about…" Sugino sweatdropped as he remembered how the saleslady from the snack bar they just went to wanted to cost them double for their drinks – had the spiky-haired boy not apologized and kept the two from burning down the hotel, they would've paid an extra 100 yen.

Karma only snickered proudly to himself and was about to talk about something else when a sudden ruckus came from the nearest boy's dorm.

"Yuichi!"

"Hold on buddy! Stay strong!"

Muffled noises like these could be heard through the traditional Ryokan door. "I wonder what happened?" Sugino was the first to make his way there and carefully slid open the door to ask what the commotion was all about. Karma watched him from his spot – he decides he'll only move to see what it is if it's worth it. But the moment he saw the drink fall from his friend's hand and spill all over the floor; his shoulders stiffened, and from what he observed, whatever it was that Sugino saw, it froze him in place. Karma raised his brow at first and just continued to sip on his drink.

"E-Excuse me, I think my glasses are over there…"

Until of course he heard that voice and stepped to the front door.

He couldn't have regretted it any more – the amount of disbelief at how things unfolded before him was too much for him to measure. His eyes widened and along with it his brows crumpled together and twitched from the unbelievable scene – the contents of the drink in his hand spilled out after he crushed it absentmindedly.

Searching for your glasses is a completely normal task – but if you're doing it while caging a man with your body inside a boy's dormitory when you are absolutely not one, something's definitely, in all ways, wrong.

Okuda Manami had her hands travelling across the tatami in search for her spectacles – but her upper body acted as a bridge over a boy who may have woken up to find her there and get a ruby red face; no, she was not aware of this for two reasons: number one, the boy was too taken off guard by waking up to a girl above him to even speak (heck not even the friends in the room could do much about it because there was suddenly a girl inside a _boy's_ dorm.) and the other was because not having glasses for quite a while now made her a little dizzy. The worst part was that her hands went to places all over the boy named Yuichi's body in the midst of her hunt for her frames – and that was already enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable even if they were safe places.

How this had come to be, no one really knew – but all the two combat club members that froze from their shock knew was that-

_'This is Nakamura's doing…'_

"Yush! I found it— oh!" Sugino failed to notice that Karma already stomped inside and pulled her off of the man by her shoulders and proceeded to drag her out of the room with the slam of the door – he didn't even heed to any of her retorts.

Not too long after they got out of the room, the baseball obsessed boy realized what he had been left to deal with: these boys, the mess on the floor and Nakamura.

Speaking of Nakamura, she was now laughing evilly once her plan had gone accordingly (she couldn't have done it without a certain class pervert)

"She's bound to tell me what happens after this." This time, the devil's horns and tail went to her as she peeked her head to the small open window with Okajima right beside her.

"Rio-chan…" Yuzuki's eye twitched at how inconceivable it all just was as she sat under the window with an irked smile.

* * *

"Uh…Karma-kun…?"

Soon, Karma was dragging her by the wrist across the moonlit woods. Crickets created their evening sound as the occasional hoots of an owl would echo through the vast space of trees and other greenery. The stars adorned the dark night sky and filled it with twinkling dots that granted the wishes of children this night. But all of that didn't really matter, for the redheaded teenager that hauled her out of here had not said a word nor turned to face her even once. Manami caught a sense of déjà vu; it hadn't been too long since he'd last given her a cold shoulder, and she just went up and did it again.

She thought back to what just happened – why was she so unfazed? Probably because she hadn't really put much thought into what she had done for her focus was on her glasses. However, once she really grasped the reasons of why this had come to be, her cheeks had gone beet red – as an added effect, her free hand went up to her face from the embarrassment and shame of getting tangled up in such a mess unbecoming of her. If her caretaker ever found out about this, she'd surely have the mini-lab in her apartment locked for a month; that was the last thing she wanted.

But moreover, what was all the more mortifying was the fact that this boy that dragged her outside had witnessed her in such a predicament. Soon enough, she felt her eyes moving down to the moist soil right beside the creek where he had dragged her to – he's probably angered again; and once more it was her fault to get him so worried.

"Um—Oh!" she wasn't able to finish for by this time he had let go of her a little roughly and took a few steps forward for distance – his back still the only thing she could see from him. And another silence came to be; the music of an evening forest's creatures were the only things that produced noise as Karma had been left to deal with his racing thoughts.

_Great. Now what?_

He lost control of himself back there – just when he decided that he'd take a break from her for a while, _that_ of all the things had to come to view.

"Um…Karma-kun, I'm sorry for this again…" she raised her eyes from the ground but kept her head lowered as she gave him a heartfelt apology. Karma heaved a sigh and rubbed the back of his head after he had somehow calmed down after acting on impulse like that.

"It's not your fault. But…" Manami didn't see it, but his eyes glinted with spite as his hand had formed into a fist in front of him as he thought about what he would do the next time he sees the English-loving blond "The one who is better prepare herself for what's coming her way…"

The bespectacled girl let out a sigh of relief as she straightened up to face his back yet again. He kept quiet; they were alone under the crescent moon's light with only the resonances of nature and the serene waves of the creek not too far downhill from where they were.

_'You should talk to him about it…'_

She pursed her lips and took a few breaths for courage with gently clenched fists – now couldn't be a better time for her to relay this concern of hers to him. And so with a soft inhale and mild reluctance, she spoke.

"U-Um…Karma-kun about today…erm…" it was a start; she hadn't exactly thought the words through her head as she moved her eyes all over the place. Karma predicted this would come eventually, so he stepped to the side to have a look at her properly with a blank expression.

Manami took a few more breaths to try to slow her fast-beating heart especially when he looked at her as a sign that he was listening. Forcing the courage out, she let her eyes meet his.

"You've…I'm sorry for the word but you were kind of…weird all day. I've wanted to ask you about it but…I wasn't able to find the chance to…" After she said that, she couldn't bear to keep her eyes on him as her fingers twiddled about nervously behind her. "If it's about a few days ago…t-then I'm sorry for making you mad…I didn't mean to snap at you. But in case you're not mad then maybe…" and the words she had tried to form clearly had become lost then and there – what was it she wanted to say? It was all too confusing for her to even get her finger around it, and because of that, the next set of words came without a thought "…I don't understand. I don't understand you, Karma-kun. You know when I'm feeling bad and you can read me easily all the time…I want to be that kind of person to you. I want to know more about you but…" the following words came out with obvious perturbation as by this point the one who listened to her frowned as the bad feeling he hid so well tugged on his chest "But whatever I did ended with you getting away from me. I really didn't know what to do. I thought you were mad but you didn't act like it. Is there something wrong with my face or how I smell for you to want to get farther away? Did I do something bad without realizing it? Are you watching my every move or…did you…"

And she lost it right then and there as her palms went up to slap a cover for her face "Ahhh! I really don't get it!" this resulted to Karma stifling out a small sound of surprise unintentionally – he did not expect such an upsurge; it only added up when not a second was wasted before she said with a loud muffled cry of helplessness and stepped forward "I can't understand no matter how many times I think it through! I'm just really bad when it comes to this! Why are you acting this way? Please tell me! I don't want to be so lost!" Her hands strayed away from her face as she looked up at his mercury orbs taken aback; underneath the bright light of the moon, the tears that threatened to pour from the edge of her shiny lavender glistened like the stars in the sky "I want to know Karma-kun…so…"

She came up to him suddenly, and because of his cautious instincts caused by her abrupt movements, he stepped backwards after the proximity between them increased – however, he least expected what came next.

Her foot had lost balance on the edge of the small hill by the creek because of him and she stumbled backwards to where the body of water was and failed to regain it even though she tried

Thinking fast and out of reflex, his eyes widened and with a sharp movement he grabbed her arm to try to pull her up; but it only made things worse for he had gotten on the bad side of her injury and made her jerk backwards, resultantly taking him with her.

"AH—! K-Kar—!"

After another moment of frantic and panicked movements, the two had fallen into the water with individual splashes.

Lucky for them, the creek was deep enough to lessen the impact and for them to be able to stand up and the fall downhill wasn't very high – though they may have disturbed a few fish that were peacefully rested in the water.

Karma was the first to get his head out of the water as he put the side of his fist on his mouth and coughed – his hair was now soaking wet as the water dripped down his face. Not three seconds later, Manami came out right in front of him; braids in a drenched mess with her glasses hilariously disoriented on her face as her expression told him she was in the process of realizing what had just happened – her eyebrows were raised and her mouth formed into tiny hole on her face. "Uh…"

Before Karma could recover from his own dumbstruck-ness, another unexpected occurrence came – and it was an odd one this time. Just as they were staring at each other, too surprised to even speak, a bubble came from in front of them followed by a…yellow jar lid?

And with a single _fwop_ sound, a dozen rice cracker cookies floated up to the surface of the water – leaving the boy all the more bewildered by these series of events.

"Ah! My cookies!" his attention reverted to his now absolutely dismayed chemistry loving friend who had her hands by the side of her head as she had her eyeballs shrunk by the sight of her now soggy sweets. He had never seen anyone look so terribly – _entertainingly_ disheartened by the loss of food. Not only that, the entire sequence itself since they came here had been one hell of a happening – it was too full of unanticipated scenes one couldn't even begin to comprehend.

And just as Manami was about to fall into agony, Karma couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing – only this time, she noticed there was something new in this laughter of his. It wasn't like the usual chortles or snickers he would do from time to time; no, this one could be compared to that of an innocent child – genuine and full of light.

The sight had the braided girl completely entranced – not only was it rare to see him laugh so openly, but she found the picture before her simply wonderful; and she wouldn't to hesitate to see it one more time. No words could explain what she felt at the time as her eyes were blessed with such a scene (not to mention there was the added effect by the moon), so she found herself joining in with her own genuine laugh. People would probably consider them idiots to be laughing their hearts out in a creek in the middle of a forest at night if anyone saw them.

Karma was the first to try to speak as he barely got the words out properly "Okuda-san, are you an idiot?"

Manami's giggling came to a stop "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" this only made him chuckle one more time and put a hand on her head "No nothing, never mind. My head's been cleared." His laughter stopped, but the smile remained as he gazed at her – his hand stroked her wet hair once "I made you worry all day. I'm sorry." The words came out with an apologetic smile and such honesty that couldn't be denied. So he _had_ been doing it intentionally.

The petite-framed girl fixed her glasses with both hands as she turned her head up and presented him with a cheery smile "It's okay. I guess it's just my…karma." She giggled lightheartedly, but ended up with her shoulders jerking upwards when he flicked her forehead – but the smile remained; only this time it appeared to be saying 'Nice try.'

"Ow! W-was the joke that bad?" she tilted her head playfully with a slightly nervous grin – but in truth, she was just happy things had been fixed.

Karma chuckled "We should get up, don't you think?"

* * *

"Are you cold?"

"No, it's fine. What about you?"

"I can manage."

They'd settled on staying by the creek for the time being. Of course, they wouldn't want to come to the hotel soaking wet after what they had just gone through back there, so it'd be best to let themselves dry in the meantime – besides, the forever crescent moon looked nice with the view they had.

The two were seated about a meter apart on the edge of the plateau they had fallen from. The calm gush of the waves against the rocky shore was music to their ears after a long, eventful day, and when accompanied by the forest's natural beauties and other night creatures, the moon that hovered above them had never appeared to be more striking as both relished in the tranquility of their comfortable silence and refreshing isolation from the public.

"…The moon's stayed the same since then, huh…" the sweet, reminiscing voice of a feeble girl shattered the quietude between her and her scarlet haired companion with that small remark.

"Yep." The mischievous boy stifled a chuckle and stationed his arms behind him in a lazy fashion of sitting.

Manami embraced her knees and rested her chin on them as her mind drifted back to pleasant times "Our school trip last year was weirder than this one…" She started once again, a beam gracing her lips "Korosensei really helped us there back then…and at the same time we were trying to assassinate him."

Karma nodded and had another one of his carefree smiles back on "Our class really was one of a kind to spend such times trying to assassinate our own teacher with the target knowing." When he thought through it, it _was_ weird. Who takes the time to plot the assassination of someone that didn't want you yourself dead.

"I wonder if we still had to do that until now. The castle would've been a good place to ambush him." She suggested and turned to her friend – whom chuckled at this idea "He probably would've seen it coming there. But maybe a trap would work; I have this feeling he could be just as addicted to Shachihoko as you were." He teased and called it success when a blush of embarrassment went up to her face.

"A-Anyway…it would've been nice if I was able to go through with the plan in putting poison inside his sweets. They sold lots outside of the castle."

"Oh yeah! He was such a sucker for those after all. And I'm sure Kayano would've gotten him to do it."

"Speaking of Kayano-san, are she and Shiota-kun…?"

They went on with their reminiscence under the late night sky with ease. The nostalgia of it all made their hearts feel bittersweet as each memory had been revisited. The conversation went from 'if they were to assassinate their yellow octopus teacher in Nagoya, where would the best place be?' to some of the most memorable parts of him back in middle school and with it some of the notable accomplishments and ridiculous antics of specific classmates including incidents with Itona, Ritsu, Kayano, other professional assassins and almost everyone else for that fact – especially Nagisa. Before they knew it, they were laughing the pain in their hearts off at every small recollection of such a wonderful year.

"So many things happened I barely even remember what middle school was like before he came to our lives!" Manami giggled bittersweet-ly and leaned back with her arms for support.

Karma's eyes had gone half-lidded as a glum smile made its way to his face "I'm not sure if I'll remember what happens after…" this had caused the girl to sink her chin behind her arms after she had tucked her knees back in again – talking about this did bring a few beams to their faces, but the fact still stands that there was a hole in their – everyone in 3-E's hearts after everything. It was hard to pick yourself up and keep yourself motivated when something extraordinary ends and you're back to nothing but the common life of an everyday student – or person for that matter. What's more, Karma was not exactly the most expressive person you'd find out there, but if it's a talk about this, it had always been obvious since the day _he_ passed away that this redheaded kid that saw everything indifferently, was devastated.

"Mm…" and the wind flew by just in time to fill in the next silence – it was like even the Nagoya forest itself had chosen to mute themselves just to respect this memory of a great teacher, assassin and person/octopus.

Manami had known from the start that this was a sensitive topic for all those who had been a student of his, so naturally, she was not caught by surprise at his sudden change of subject.

"By the way, I've noticed something." Funny, it was like what they talked about didn't happen at all – like he just had this ability to mask whatever pain that burdened him and kept his blithe demeanor up. Karma now had his quizzical eyes on her with the next question "Why are you afraid of Hayami-san?"

This is what caught her off guard for a bit – where had it come from in the first place? The introvert's eyeballs shrunk as her hands waved themselves out in front of her after she faced him "A-Afraid?! I'd never! Ha-Hayami-san is—"

"You look more uncomfortable with her compared to everyone else, so I assumed it was something like that." He cut her off and kept the same face as he waited for another answer from her. Manami sighed – Karma saw through everyone after all, how could he not notice this?

"I'm not afraid…" Her glasses glinted against the moonlight when she returned to her position with her chin rested on her knees behind her arms. The next sets of words were honest and put straightforwardly – eyes were moved to the side as the orangeheaded sniper came to mind "It's just that…it was in middle school when I thought of this. For some reason I always felt like she was so far away from the world I knew even if she was just right in front of me. She…looks like a grown-up to me – something I may or may not become. It's like…it's like she's so ahead of everyone, that's all. Chiba-kun may be similar but he's more…erm…" she took a few seconds to find the right word and settled with "…approachable. So I guess that's why I'm so nervous when I talk to her…" a second later, she sharply turned to her companion after she studied what she just said "Maybe I am afraid?!"

Karma laughed lightly and pet her head as a sign to relax "No, no. I get what you mean. You have a point." He stopped for a while and faced the moon before continuing with a knowing smile "But when people like that come along…you'll be surprised to find out they're just like anyone else. So don't get too conscious over it." He tilted his head over to her to give her some reassurance and was pleased to see her nod at this.

"Well, now that that's— Oh, woops." He stated this casually, but after he leaned back on his arms and brought out his hand, Manami panicked when she saw blood erupt from a fresh scar – it must've been from the sharp pebbles on this forest path "K-Karma-kun! Your wounds opened!"

"Oh, indeed they have." He responded without a care at all about how the others had also swelled with the red liquid.

"W-W-We need to do something!" she scurried her hands about frenziedly as she tried to look for something to cover it with. "Ahhh, why did you take off your dressing…" she cried out, alarmed and completely clueless and unable to think from her agitation.

"Uh…if you want it, it's right here."

"Oh! Nice work!"

* * *

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt?" Manami used the back of the dressing for this round – fair enough, it was much cleaner than most so she considered it to be okay over the opened scars. Karma scoffed at this question of hers and just smirked while she wrapped the material around his hand with care "This? Hurt? You think low of me if that's what's on your mind, Okuda-san."

"I'm just concerned…I know you can take care of yourself Karma-kun, but when things like these happen you have to deal with them carefully." She attempted to scold him, but this only made his grin grow wider with the desire to tease her about such.

"Oh, Okuda-san cares too much. It's just a simple wound." He mused and earned himself another concerned retort from the frail girl.

"Of course I care! Even if it's just simple it still makes me a little anxious…" her eyes moved downwards as she tried to relieve her heart of worry from the panic she had just gone into.

"Hm? Then you should be my personal maid then~" he couldn't help himself with that one, it was fun to tease her about things after all, and it was all the more rewarding when he got a cute pout out of her "I can't drop school to become your maid." She took it seriously – one of the perks when making fun of Okuda Manami is when she doesn't understand a joke. Karma snickered when she continued to pout at him and neatly finished with her work on his hand – in all honesty, that pout of hers was very cute.

"But…" when he looked at her again, his interest was piqued when he saw how her eyes had tenderness in them as her distant eyes seemed to consider something "If I didn't have to…I don't think it would be so bad to become Karma-kun's maid…"

This got him taken aback – eyes grew wide when yet another one of his jokes had been taken seriously with an answer he did not expect. The thought of Okuda-san becoming a maid for him and greeting him in the morning at his house popped up ever so suddenly - along with it the outfit, serving him dinner, telling him good night and so on. But what was more mortifying was when he took notice of her gentle hands still holding onto his even after she had fixed the wound. He took a moment to grasp the situation he had himself in until his train of thought had been abrupt with an exclamation from the cause of this bafflement.

"Oh yeah! I have something for you!" without a moment's hesitation, she ran off to the hotel with a 'wait here!' before she vanished.

Moments passed where Karma was just left there to come to a few realizations and exactly take in what had just happened to him. Soon enough, he felt the heat rise to his cheeks for yet another time in that same week for the same reason; he placed a hand over the red tint on his face and tried to control it – rather than feeling irked, he himself didn't know why, but he caught himself laughing this off by himself "You're really something!"

But even after he laughed it off, whatever heat was on his cheeks did not cease – and the grin disappeared. His head had lowered itself as he faced the ground with shrunk mercury orbs and his hands by both sides of his head, not even then did the red of his face go away.

He heaved a sigh.

_'It won't happen again.'_

She just proved how wrong he was.

* * *

"I'm sorry I took so long!"

And there she came, padding to him with her hands hid behind her to prevent from the recipient from finding out what it was. Karma had regained his composure by now and kept a cool grin on his face "You really ran back there?"

Manami nodded with enthusiasm "Mm! It wasn't so far since I left my bag by the lockers." Her thumb came to view for reassurance "So…" he watched her take a deep breath and clear her throat before revealing the paper bag behind her with a beam that stretched her cheeks "For you! Karma-kun!"

The redhead stared at this curiously and gently took it from her "Thank you, Okuda-san. But you really didn't have to."

She shook her head and crouched down beside him "Mm...This is the least I could have done. You've done too much for me, and I've gotten you into a lot of troubles lately. So…please consider this as a thank you…" her expression softened as her thoughts drifted back to when she first encountered him on a bench and screeched his name out – then to the time where he waited for her by the river on her way home underneath the magnificent, post-rain, spring sunset. From there, the memories of her days alone with him resurfaced as she spoke; their stops by the convenience store, the poisonous frog they examined, the tears she shed that day…

"If it wasn't for you…I wouldn't have everything I have today." She smiled up at him with a sincere smile and eyes that brimmed with immeasurable gratitude. "This…isn't even enough to compensate for it…" gently, she pushed the bag to him with hopes that he would find this gift appeasing at least.

Karma returned the smile and once more, put his hand above her head – in which she grinned to "You don't have to thank me so much for such a simple thing." With that, he neatly pulled the paper bag open; once he did, whatever expression he had on had been replaced with a vacant one, for inside the bag was a comic book – and not just any, it was the latest, deluxe issue of a series he'd come to like called 'Sonic Ninja'. He hadn't even gotten a chance to get a hold of this one yet; how did she know? Moreover, where did she find the time to search for something as rare as this?

"It's simple to you, but to me it's worth a lot." She said this quietly, but there was no ounce of a lie or any form of sugarcoating in her words as he stared at the gift with astonishment.

That's when Manami caught herself and started acting all fidgety "U-Uh I didn't know what you wanted bu-but I heard from Shiota-kun you like some comics so I just went to get some for you. I didn't know what you had b- but I tried my best to get a good one. But I feel sorry for using Inari-nee's credit card…I-If you already have it then…" she stopped mid-sentence once his forehead had collided with hers softly. Having looked up, she saw another expression of the red-haired teenager she is yet to familiar herself with – what was it? His half-lidded mercury orbs were inscrutable, but for some reason or another, she could get the sense of tenderness from it as it was accompanied by a warm smile. This is the first time she had seen him look so…there was no word to describe it, but what came close was 'open'. The girl was quite positive he didn't make this face just to anyone – it was genuine, and it was hard to get past the strong mask this aloof boy had put on all the time. For the second time that night, she was absorbed; all she could do was stare up at him. She didn't even get the chance to think of words to say after-

"I love it."

Just then, by the corner of their eyes, tiny, bright, golden lights that came in millions each expanded gratifyingly. One by one, they lit up the dark, isolated woods with such radiance that had the two's attention taken.

* * *

On the porch of the small-ish hotel, a lone, emerald-eyed girl rested with her knees tucked in as she stared at the forest's entrance – thoughts of a depth swam through this sniper's mind, but had been interrupted when a voice came from the door.

"Hayami." It was deep, serious, but questioning – she already knew who it was before he came to her side and looked up at the same patch of trees that were right in front of her; it wasn't so obvious with the hair covering his eyes, however.

Rinka didn't respond and ripped her gaze away from the forest as she moved them to the ground in front of her – this was a clear indication of a disturbance, and enough to urge the taller boy to inquire such from her.

"What's on your mind?" of course Hayami expected him to read her, just like how she could read him. And because it's him, she found herself able to open up easily in contrast with most. Albeit this fact, she only was able to muster the few words that meant everything she felt at the time. Through all that seriousness and adult-like façade, there were the feelings of a lonely girl going through her adolescent years – it may not even be becoming of her to express this much, but with the boy next to her, she knows that he'd be more than fine with it

"I…I want to get along with everyone…" it was a quiet and muffled voice that came out of her rarely used mouth – but her eyes gave off the rest of the words that need not be spoken. Chiba saw it – the shine in her eyes quivered in a sense that tears lay behind them, forever unshed. Upon further study, he observed how they longed for something, but the guilt of a certain event held her back from taking action.

"I see." Was all he said with that dull tone of his – but underneath it was something entirely different. The way she lowered her gaze at this; that was enough to urge him to take that lonely expression of hers away from her face.

He wouldn't want her to continue making that face, after all. He didn't like it one bit.

And in the midst of their comfortable, yet hollow silence, bright lights of brilliant gold aroused around them with magnificence as they moved elegantly through the nighttime breeze. They could easily be compared to the shine of a lantern – but a lantern made by man is no match for the view they had been given by the wonders of nature.

And Rinka, whom had her head lowered, couldn't stop herself from looking at the several lights with awe – something the dark-haired sniper deemed quite lovely.

* * *

"I'm telling you! It was a way to get them together! I mean look at those two!" inside a well-lit Japanese style bedroom, a blond yelled from her knelt position in front of a spiky-haired boy that did not look amused.

Sugino was barely the type to get irked by anything – but this was an exception for the two girls and single guy that knelt apologetically to him at the moment had laid their hands in something that shouldn't have been messed with.

The reason those three were able to submit to such a position in front of the boy is because this was the rare occurrence of the baseball-obsessed boy to have become so evidently disappointed by what they had done.

"I just got sucked into this because she asked me to." The perverted boy in between the females shrugged and sat back with blithe.

Sugino sweatdropped at this "Okajima…admit you wanted to get a good show from this too…"

Yuzuki sighed and leaned back on the wall by the window they had been spying from – it wasn't a total mystery how they had been found there since it was an obvious place to watch things unfold; that, and they'd been ratted out by the boys in the room (yes, they were still there.) "Sugino-kun has a point. But…when I saw them today, I think they really needed something to push them to talk to each other. Knowing them, I doubt either would take enough initiative to just confront the other about it…" she deadpanned at the words and leaned back in the same fashion Okajima did.

The spiky-haired boy's crossness faded out after he had taken the girl's words into account and put a hand on his chin. "You may be right about that but…" the image of Okuda crouched underneath a tree from earlier today flashed back in his head – she was lost and confused and the only one who could have cleared that up for her was the reason for it. At the same time the image of Karma back in super time had come up – the way his elbow had been propped on the table followed by the averting of his gaze once he mentioned it; though he had guaranteed the bespectacled girl that he would ask him about it, he couldn't bring himself to. "But it didn't look like something _we_ had to handle. If we stuck our noses into it, it might end up getting worse."

"Oh!"

"Nakamura, are you even listening?"

"Over there!" Rio enthusiastically had her upper body sticking out of the open window as her finger pointed to the beautiful group of fireflies that glowed with such eye-catching gorgeousness that had everyone else she was with pay their full attention to. Soon enough, the other students stopped whatever they were doing to share in the watching of this uncommon yet heart-fluttering occurrence.

* * *

"Hahh! Karma-kun! This is the first time I've seen so many!" the petite chemist jumped from her position ecstatically as her prankster companion remained leaned back on the ground – but he too had his eyes lit up by such a pretty sight. It wasn't every day you could see something so beautifully natural come up; it looked all the more entrancing with the added effect of the moon and beautiful indigo sky above them.

"Well, Nagoya forest _is_ known for this kind of thing." He chuckled when he watched the girl's grin grow with wonder – the fireflies seemed to add up by the minute for now, the entire forest had its trees showing off their green and looked like a big golden dome of glowing lights incredibly pleasant to the eye. Each of them had their own unique character to them; some would glow with a brighter light than others, but the said others had more grace to their movements – they differed in size and in brightness, but it was these distinctions that made up the over-all charm of this secluded area. Manami did not regret staying here, for she was sure that she and him would be the only ones to have gotten such a view; heck, the view might not have been better for it seemed that they were in a particular part of the forest that these insects loved to dance around.

And as the braided girl had her eyes locked with the radiant bugs, Karma didn't notice he had been gazing at her the entire time. The way her eyes glistened against the gold marveled him, how the lights reflected against her spectacles was splendid. And that face she made…he didn't know why, but a desire had come to mind – he wants her to make that face all the time. A bright smile that drowned in amazement, eyes that were lit up the way a child would see the world; and it was as if she read his mind when she muttered out-

"Pretty…"

Karma had not taken his eyes off of her as he said "…Yeah."

* * *

**So...did I make up for my mistakes in the last chapter? 8"3  
**

**WELP~ Hope you enjoyed that bit! I had fun writing it and I hope you had fun reading it too! Please do tell me what it is you found notable in this chapter, it really gets me going! ^w^**

**But anyways thanks for another read! And I'll have to warn you, since this chapter took too long I'll have to rush-ish the next chapter for reasons k? I hope you understand. Don't worry the next arc is just a short one anyway ^w^**

**Speaking of the next arc, HERE'S THE PREVIEW~!:**

**Chapter 10: Miss Understanding**

**Summer vacation's just around the corner~! And with summer, things heat up for our fellow combat club members! Literally and figuratively. So...Chiba and Hayami are kind of odd today. What? THEY had a fight? Usually they're the ones that get along but now Rinka's giving him the cold shoulder and Chiba looks like he doesn't care. What's a group of former assassins gonna do with a lover's (but not) feud? **

**FIND OUT IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF 'To Reach You'**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	10. Chapter 10

**HELLO THERE! Sorry this took quite a while to make ;w; But I'm not yet done with this arc! I wanted to make it one whole chapter but like the last one it'll be too long so I'll be dividing it into two for convenience 8D**

**Now there may be some errors here and there since I've been moving place to place in some parts because *cough* reasons *Cough* 8"D**

**So I'll apologize for that now. Also I've been feeling kind of rusty but I AM POSTING NO MATTER WHAT HAHA**

**I'll do my best to keep quality for you~ ^w^)!**

**OKay Let's answer those reviews XD (Since it's both chapters if you reviewed in both I'll only answer with one)**

**KisaragiMaru: Thanks for the review and LOL! I kinda liked that part too XD Mhmm~ You'll just have to wait for that ouo)b Aw well X'3 Sorry if Isogai's not gonna be that major here then ;w; And for your second review, I just wanted to describe it comically and anime-like so gomene XD And Yes that was intentional ouo)~ Thanks for the review! And yeah but since she called Karma Akabane-san before, that means she's still kind of distant to the others ^w^ Thank you for reassuring me! ;W;  
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**Akabane-san: HEY THERE AGAIN~ I love you too and I guess Fuwa and Sugino isn't that bad...right? X"D LOL Thank YOU! Reviewers help after all! For the second review, NAH PSH Don't be jealous of me! I'm not that good yet X'3 And yes I do my best to update and keep the karmanami going so yey~!  
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**TheRoseShadow21: Thank you for leaving another review! You all make me happy! Actually I found that part funny for me as well so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it as much as I did! XD SugiYuzu? Thanks well I just came up with it X'3 Well, you'll have to read on for the Chibayami ^3^ And thanks for those compliments too! I myself like that fireflies scene since I played Chopin's nocturne suddenly and #amazement so yeah XD  
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**animeandmangafangirl: Lol not that Nagoya XD And thanks for reviewing again like always!For the second review, thanks for that! Really! GOOD LUCK WITH SCHOOL,LIFE AND COLLEGE! Bless you!  
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**Akikarui: Depends ;D**

**I12BFree: Thanks for the review and the compliment!**

**3-E Student: You'll just have to find out down there~! Thanks for reviewing~**

**KyoRina97: Thanks! And you made me happy too! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Mugipyon: HEY THERE MUGI-CHAN~! Missed you XD Thanks for the long review! Your review has caused me to giggle and go giddy like I did you with this chapter so thanks you very much my good man! I feel sorry to say Okajima won't play a big part in this fic so I'm sorry 8"( Thanks for all of those compliments! Really, I feel so thankful for your always detailed reviews ;w; SugiYuzu has only crossed my mind because of a whim XD I'll have to figure how to work them out eventually so find out and read on~! *IS GLOMPED* THANKS BRO! Don't worry, long reviews motivate me so dont apologize~!**

**kawaiichoconeko: THHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNKKKK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU for your very long OMG XD AND of course your wonderful review! Thanks for pointing out those parts you loved!**

**Sweetmoegirl: PM~! Thanks for the review! I look forward to seeing your work! Sorry I can't send you the designs soon ;w; But I'll try maybe tomorrow**

**Quilla the Silent: Nakamura #bestgirl They're my fave pairing I LOVE THEM SO MUCH SO CUTEGHKUGH! (Duh) Thanks again! **

**Okay so DISCLAIMER TIME: The pair would've been canon by now if I owned it so yeh. **

**CHAPTER TIME! *ansatsu episode title jingle/trumpets***

* * *

**Chapter 10: Miss Understanding (Part 1: I Don't Get You)**

The school year had finally approached its summer season.

The cool spring breeze had been replaced by an air of a much higher temperature. The cherry blossoms had reached their natural ending as they had been replaced with trees of green – where insects would reside as their migration had finally begun. Everyday folk had shifted from long-sleeved clothing to garments that would allow more ventilation to enter their more prone-to-sweat bodies due to the growing heat of the new climate – the same applied to schools all over Japan for the blazers that were meant to fight against cold weathers had now been replaced with short-sleeved, buttoned shirts that came with the specific style the school was known for.

One of those schools was Kimii High School; it was known for its simple yet presentable style with just a short sleeved polo shirt and and a tie that indicated what specific year the student was. Its classrooms and hallways were crafted with pure white walls given color by school posters, creative reminder boards and a few paintings here and there that would emphasize the fact that it was a prestigious academy – the windows that were usually shut had been lifted up as it let rays of afternoon sunshine seep in and bathe the plain rooms with a yellow-ish radiance.

The light and steady footsteps of a freshmen girl patted on the floor of the administration hallway of this school's campus along with the other noises of the early morning such as a few yawns and mumbles here and there; her orange hair had been fixed with low pigtails neatly as not a strand had been out of place as always. Emerald eyes were sharp and ever-alert as she had her hands full with a stack of paper she had finished the night before – Hayami Rinka had always come to school punctually and today was no exception; especially when she'd been given a new responsibility for summer break just a few days ago. Despite the ever-serious face she had put on today (and every day), she couldn't deny the tiny excitement she had for this job of hers – she'd never done it before, but she considered it wouldn't harm her to try it out.

Stopping in front of the door, she knocked at her Social Studies teacher's office respectfully and waited for a reply that didn't come from the other side too long after. There was a a bit of a stir within the room as footsteps bustled to the door, Rinka remained stoic even when the light-haired dorky looking instructor had revealed himself – from what she had inspected, he seemed to be quite stressed out as there was sweat that trickled down his head most probably not _just_ because of the heat. With the subtle adjustment of his square-framed glasses and a brief scratch of his scalp from the back of his auburn hair, he entertained his student with her needs.

"Ah yes, Hayami-san, why is it that you've come?"

"Tori-sensei, I have finished the paper work I have been assigned to for the summer tutoring program." She stated professionally as she placed the stack (That was heavier than it looked) on the free arms of her teacher straightforwardly – this left the middle-aged man in quite the daze however.

"U-Uh Hayami-sa—"

"Also, since I have been placed under the social studies group, specifically with current events as the lesson I've been appointed to teach to the incoming batch of our high school's entrance test takers, I have taken the time to provide myself and the student with an outline of some of the notable happenings within our country and internationally handwritten in a notebook." She proceeded in a business-like manner and made sure her words were clear as not an ounce of feeling had been applied to her tone – though the teacher who was stammering at the moment could probably pass this as her way of being enthusiastic as he tried to speak up.

"Uh—Er, Hayami-san, haven't you been tol—"

"Up until now, I have been working on collecting a few sample reports that can be used to enhance the student's ability to professionally and presentably create one of their own if ever the question comes to that point. I will have them ready right on time for the pupils to use without a problem." Even as her teacher tried to stutter out what appeared to be something of significance, it seemed she had failed to notice such as she rambled on – truth be told, even this teacher had to be taken aback by how mature the approach of this student of his was.

"A-As I was saying—"

"Sensei, do we have an issue?" _now _she had taken the courtesy to inquire this from her teacher, but she kept her face stoic and unchanging; only a slight sign of question had been shown in her voice

"A-Ahh well you see…" Tori-sensei adjusted his goggles and smiled sheepishly – and a tad bit uneasily at his rather ecstatic (even if she didn't look like it) and rubbed the back of his head with a nervous laugh "Ahe…It breaks my heart to tell you this but er…you've been relieved of that task for the break."

Her constant face had broken with the widening of her eyes after she had taken in what the older man had just told her "What?"

The word came out more hostile than she had intended for it to be as it had resulted to her teacher stuttering again and stepping back once "W-W-Well uhm...y-you see erm, please do not take this as an offense – your grades in my subject are outstanding to say the least; o-or in a lot of subjects for that matter because w-well it seems you've tackled most in middle school. However I was informed – I-I mean it was suggested by another student that you were not eligible for the task as you may have problems in dealing with the young ones; so we'd like for them to be comfortable with their tutors for safety s-so… a-and moreover I was given a point that to leave something like this to a freshman is a bit…" he rambled on as he continued making excuses in that sheepish manner of his – though he had tried to relay this to her politely, that didn't keep the twitch in her hands at bay as she had practically glared at the floor once she heard this. This was inconceivable to say the least – after all the effort she'd put into doing such, and just when she was rather excited by the task, which is rare occasion. For the sniper, this was nothing but irksome.

"You didn't know? Aha, I assumed he had told you since…"

Rinka had turned her gaze back to her teacher – unconsciously giving him a fright with her glaring face as she asked with a somewhat bilious tone. "He?"

"E-Er… your classmate Chiba Ryuunosuke."

* * *

"Stop right there."

The school gardens were a little empty where a particular boy with dark hair that refused to reveal whatever orbs he had under them – most probably because he had been walking past the seniors building which – as rumors put it – was crawling with supernatural oddities that this gunman assumed to be spread by the third years to keep younger ones from trespassing. Thankfully enough, the sun did not beat down heavily in contrast to other days since the season started – wide azure skies and pure white clouds that could nearly blind the eye with their cotton-like form drifting through the hot air. The school may not have been near forests and such, but the cicadas that rested upon the trees and other types of greenery surrounding the demure boy sounded through the vacant spaces of their campus.

And just when he heard the all-too-familiar voice, he did what he had been ordered to and halted from his wandering to take a side step and face the glare of a green-eyed girl that didn't exactly look to be in any sort of gaming mood at the time. Despite the depth of her scowl, Chiba hadn't even flinched – if it were anyone else, that sharp glower of hers would probably be enough to kill whoever it was and the birds all around him/her. But for this boy whose eyes could not be read due to the curtain of black locks, he appeared as if this didn't even send a teaspoon of threat to his person.

"Yo, Hayami."

"Don't 'Yo' me." She was peeved to say the least – not exactly a rare sight, but when she gets furious, it's never exactly a pretty scene; he had every right to say this from personal experience.

Chiba kept his lips zipped as he made a full turn to face her directly – but it looked like his every move added up to her anger as her brow twitched when he didn't say anything else; not even ask what she wanted to talk about since she had a hunch he knew exactly what it was

"Why?" her voice was solid and downright dangerous as she demanded for an answer from him. The grip she had on the notebooks and other papers in her palm had tightened and nearly brought all of her work to a crumpled pile under the mercy of her arms strength.

"Why what?" she couldn't easily tell if this was him being sarcastic for he had voiced it out nonchalantly – not even the impression of a question had been present as he just watched her fume all the more with the attitude he put up.

"You know how much work I'd put into that job." Her tone was loud, but nothing had been recklessly exclaimed for others to pay their attention to them. "What the hell were you going about saying I 'wasn't eligible' for it?"

"Simple." He wasted no time in answering in the same manner as he placed no filter in his next words "You're not the type to lead someone. You're too straightforward and bad with encouraging people – most find disturbance with you present. I'd feel sorry for the one under you." This had the already riled ginger pulse with even more aggravation at his statement; her teeth had clenched visibly as her knuckles had begun to turn white and shook with rage.

"When did it become _your_ business to meddle with my decisions?" her voice came low this time, but it was because of that it had sounded all the more ferocious as it had been accompanied by a small and inconspicuous snarl. She was aware that she was flawed, but that didn't mean he had to go this far – and to the extent where he would not consider her feelings on the matter was just infuriating to the light haired girl.

"I'm not able to trust them lately, that's it." Not even a spec of reluctance or sugarcoating came with that proclamation as he had stepped to the side once again as a sign that he was prepared to leave any moment now that it was only his side that was visible to her.

"What?" it came out as a question now – not only for him but for herself as well as she attempted to take in what it is he was trying to say. The fury in her fists had weakened as her irritated expression loosened up just a puny bit by the cluelessness she had with what he meant – nevertheless, this didn't cool any of the boiling ire that only rose inside of her as each second passed.

"Was there anything you've done to make a significant change to your problem?" Rinka wasn't sure why, but even though his tone and attitude never differed from each statement, she was left more and more irritated just by the sound of it – it was starting to reach the point where just hearing his voice and looking at him gave her enough reason to punch him then and there. Moreover, this was what he had been concerned with?

"E-Eh?" the annoyance had been taken over temporarily by the suddenness of the topic he went and started talking about. It didn't take too long for her to catch on what he wanted to point out with having said that – her problem meant her issue with her club mates; a golden haired one especially, if one were to be particular. The earlier furious expression had been replaced with a face that tried to hide agitation and the averting of her gaze; but of course, tsundere as she was, she had kept her crossness with him.

"None." He answered for her – this was enough to urge her to speak without thought as she retorted to his sickening behavior at the moment.

"I-I'm doing what I can!" she turned her head to glare daggers at him with the absentminded movement forward of her foot as an indication she was really getting fed up with this by now.

And once more, he wasted no time in replying to that with the same voice and the same fashion "I'm not convinced."

Now with this, Rinka had been caught at a loss for words and had herself absolutely dumbstruck with how unbelievably insensitive what he just said was. All she could muster was "Wha—" as she took one more step forward recklessly at his form already preparing to leave her there – not to mention with such a remark to fret about.

Before he fully turned his heel though, Chiba head lowered to the pitiful pieces of paper and notebooks within her possession and tilted his head at this "Those notes you made…did you try to copy Okuda-san with that idea?"

"Eh—" This abrupt comment had caused the girl to step back as her cheeks had slowly grown a red tint to them out of the embarrassment on the fact that he had been able to see right through her without her even giving him a single hint about it – sometimes she's thankful for this sharpness of his character, but there were other times (such as this one) where is aim was too sharp for his own good. With a slightly uncomfortable hum and the hiding of the lower half of her face with the use of said papers and notes, her emerald orbs had moved to the side as she concealed a pout from underneath the stack of paper "Mm…and? What of it? Is it wrong?"

"As I thought." The next set of words made the female sniper lower her papers from her face as the pout had been overtaken by one of utter bewilderment to the boy's motives or rewards that could be his reason for being so insensitive to her today.

"You're just dragging yourself around." And without another word or care at all, he turned heel and left her there in a frustrated and shocked mess of emotion and mind games. What on earth did he mean by she's 'just dragging herself around'?! What's making him act this way?! These thoughts would pile up as she remained with her feet glued there. No matter how frustrated she felt with those words, in the end, she was not able to retort to them and was only able to shout a-

"Hey—!" that didn't even count once he had left her in the middle of the school garden under the cerulean sky.

A few more seconds of bafflement had run by quicker than the road-runner before Rinka pulled herself together (but this didn't save any papers in her hand for she had crushed them again once she had come back to reality) and trudged away from the area with sharp footsteps and clear-cut movements of her arms that drove away anyone who would've wanted to approach her at the time as she had been carrying an aura of immense hostility that emanated from her form as she couldn't get her mind off what was going on with her complicated boyfriend.

She failed to notice it, but in the middle of her trudge away from the secluded garden, a pair of students who shared lunch upon an isolated bench had witnessed her angry fit from the way she traveled to wherever it is she wanted to go.

They couldn't even call her out to ask her what was wrong for they assumed it was a good idea not to and there was the fact that even if they had done so they'd end up getting ignored or caught in a much worse fate.

A shy, bespectacled girl whose hair had been styled neatly with twin braids had her signature bunny chopsticks in hand as she had her head turned to where the orangehead had walked briskly off to quizzically. "I wonder what happened…"

Her red-haired companion whom lazily took a sip from his carton of milk shrugged as he kept his head turned the same direction as the shorter girl; but instead of staring at the edge of the wall curiously along with her, he instead had on a sarcastic smile as he responded to her.

"Probably something annoying."

* * *

"AAAAAHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OMO-CHAN?!" The agitated cry of a sixteen year old girl with an oversized bow behind her head nearly deafened the ears of a group of students gathered about around a traditional Japanese table of an old wooden room.

It was after class hours, and the combat club has come together again for their usual meeting – and like most times, no official business of the sort had been discussed or even paid mind to for it was yet another free day for this peculiar group. But unlike most days, the room itself looked like a tornado had passed by – snacks were laid recklessly on the mat along with a few books, papers, pens and other school materials; heck, not even their bags were arranged properly for it appears they have only been tossed to the side or on the already chaotic looking floor as they went on with some card game on the also disoriented table.

The vice president, Isura Mai, was supposedly given the task to check up on one of the clubs she supervised – yes, including the cleanliness; however, her attention had been diverted from that responsibility as she had herself distracted by a redheaded boy with her unofficial pet in his hands. Not only did she find them there with her pig-bear hybrid about to be tied on the betting table of their game of poker, but now he had an apple in his mouth as he was currently trembling in the sadistic boy's hold.

"I'm betting him for this round." Karma grinned without sparing the older girl a glance as he firmly set the brown furball atop the table without escape using thread he found lying around some of the drawers to tie its legs together on a rather large plate enough to fit its size. Though this were a scene not so common to the eyes – most in the room had taken such indifferently; there were two reasons for this: one was because it was Karma, and the second one was because there came a point in these club member's lives where the weird and the morbid had failed to surprise them.

"Th-That's against animal rights!" Mai tried to reason out amidst the alarm she had gained just by sliding the door open and being displayed with such a sight. Her arms had flailed by her sides as she had started to feel some sweat form from both the shock and the heat.

Karma smiled up from his cross-sitting position by the table as he leaned back on his arms to face his senior with a sly look in his eye "So Senpai, what kind of animal is he?"

Seconds of silence followed after that – even those who weren't paying attention to her or the game had to turn their gazes to the girl that had been brought to a tongue-tie as her body froze in place.

"…I'm playing too!" having announced that, the subject had been dropped and never brought up again as she went over to one side of the table and took her own share of cards from whatever was left on the deck. She respectfully placed her own bet (which was about 50 yen) on the middle of the table with the slam of her hand.

_'Not even she knows…'_ A sporty boy with dark hair on the same table sweatdropped at the thought as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand with his own cards spread out for him to view on the other one.

The poor animal on the table with an apple blocking him from speaking or even biting his way out could only let out an exclamation similar to _'PWI!'_ when his caretaker decided to participate.

"I'm just saying but…she could just tell him to give it back and end its misery, right?" Yuzuki had also sweatdropped at how things unfolded in front of her as she shared the same position with Sugino whom answered without changing his expression with "I think it's best not to think about it…"

"Don't worry Omo-chan! I'll win this real quick and take you to the vet just in time for your vaccination!" this reassurance that Mai had given the small animal had only done the opposite for creature had only started to squeal 'PWII!' and flail uncontrollably on the plate with its polygon like eyes fixed on the other two players in a pleading fashion as if to say 'GET HER AWAY FROM ME'

"Alright. Let's see what you got, Senpai~" Karma chimed feistily and was ready with newly distributed cards for he and his senior's brief individual game – wherein the wager was a helpless animal and 50 yen.

"I won't lose easily!" she tried to smirk challengingly – it wasn't so easy for her to look threatening due to her fluffy and bubbly personality, so naturally it came out not as planned and even scared the poor creature on the plate.

Said helpless animal had paused from its thrashing and turned to the two that had put his custody at stake in the first place. His trembling head moved from his worst nightmare's face (Mai) to the other one he is yet to familiarize himself with – but after glancing to the redhead for not even three seconds, Omo-chan had decided the latter was scarier with the psychopathic grin he put on; after another few moments of thought, he accepted that his fate was terrible either way for it seemed as if his soul hovered above his corpse-like body.

"I feel so sorry for him…" Sugino said this but did nothing to stop this pitiful scene.

Yuzuki nodded at this and sighed before turning her attention to a blond girl who had been unusually silent from her spot on the table – she had her eyes trained on the peculiar creature that had just had an episode as both hands kept on her cheeks with her elbows upon the table.

"Rio-chan, you've been staring at it for a long time now." The otaku observed and had been replied to with a single glance until the light-haired girl turned back to the soulless creature in front of her "Oh? Don't mind me…I'm just starting to stop questioning its existence…"

"Okay, one set decides all." Mai had some sort of battle stance ready by the table as she treated her cards like a fan that hid the lower half of her face and eyed her opponent studiously.

"Fine by me." Karma replied casually as he himself was prepared to set his cards down on her call. Now that the game that would decide who holds the brown bear-pig hybrid's funeral had been in play, the entire table shifted their regard to them.

"1…2…3…GO!"

After the cards had been slapped to the table, not one moment was wasted before the droopy-eyed sophomore exclaimed "I LOST!" and in no time at all she was found sulking down on her knees by the wall face-first on the floor – at this, Karma smirked and fanned himself with his full house set proudly.

Afterwards, Sugino found himself sweatdropping again as he said "This is Kimii's student council vice president…?"

As such events passed, in the more quiet side of the ever-lively club room, a petite girl whose lavender eyes glossed brightly from behind her shining spectacles took the initiative to clean up the room as they played – it was very fortunate for them to have her, otherwise the entire room may have been invaded with cockroaches already. Whilst Manami arranged the bags and shoes properly by the window after having cleaned up some of the other plastics and food crumbs from the floor with a smile on her face – she was used to such thanks to a certain woman she may as well call her guardian; it would be dishonest of her to say she didn't find enjoyment in cleaning things up, she was feminine that way.

In the midst of her arranging, the duo that had been quiet along with her by the corner of her eye had been less interactive today – it would be deemed normal, but usually they'd at least laugh along or remark or even make their presence acknowledged. The braided girls eyes drifted over to them curiously – it appeared to be that they were avoiding contact with each other, or at least the orangeheaded one didn't seem to be in a very good mood for she couldn't exactly tell how the other one felt with his hair all over his face like that – but she could be sure that he was in a way better mood than she was. A frown made its way to Manami's face – they had been that way since yesterday when she saw Hayami briskly walk away from something angrily.

"Manami-chan!" Before she could dive any deeper into these thoughts, the sudden shout of her name had snapped her out of it just in time to see a pig's snout and tiny legs fly closer and closer to her as each split-second passed – she didn't even have any time to react until said legs landed on her head and off it in a swift hop which resulted to the falling of her glasses and an "Oompf!" sound from her.

"Omo-chan!" not a moment was wasted as the ever-so-energetic council member had recovered from her sulking and padded over to the window where her pet had jumped off to to yell at its now running form "Omo-chan! You didn't apologize!"

All they got as a response was a "Pwiiiiiiiiiiii!" that had gone farther and farther away with a trail of dust behind it.

"You're not gonna get away that easily!" Mai yelled back and was ready to leap off the window herself until a rowdy collection of panicked cries from behind her had kept her from doing so.

"SENPAI! WE'RE ON THE SECOND FLOOR!" Sugino warned with just as much agitation as everyone else now up on their feet in a desperate way to stop their senior from splatting on the ground – save for Karma who only watched on with enjoyment.

"Oh yeah!" Mai raised a finger as if a lightbulb had popped up above her head at the sudden realization of something as she turned back to her group of juniors with a serious expression "I forgot I had an appointment with Pres. Down at the first floor. Thank you for reminding me, Sugino-kun." She nodded to him in the same style a soldier would to a rookie when he did a good job.

"That's not my concern here but I'll go with it!"

"I'll be going now~!" and with that her bubbly personality had come back as suddenly as her previous actions as she jogged out the door with a radiant smile and the gentle close of the door.

"She completely missed the entire point of her coming here…" Yuzuki commented with a deadpan as she stared at the door, still not quite recovered from what had just happened.

"Isura-senpai's odd, isn't she?" Manami remarked as she picked her glasses up and fixed them properly on her face. Her sudden participation in the conversation had the rest of their stares directed to her as she said with a bright smile "But I guess that's what makes her cute."

Karma tilted his head at her after this and had a small smile on in amusement– she'd only occasionally praise someone that way; she must look up to this senior of theirs somehow if that was so. Spotting this gesture of his, Rio smirked and crossed her arms – mischief invading her features "But Manami-chan, you're cute too you know?"

"He-Heh?! N-Not at all! I'm—" she waved her hands out in front of her as she stammered out of embarrassment before she had been cut-off

"Of course you are! Isn't that right, _Karma-kun_?" the blond's voice was taunting as she moved her head over to where he stood with his hands pocketed.

"What's that Nakamura? You still haven't gotten enough of that juice?" after this, his casual expression had turned into a glare as he grinned at her maliciously "_I have more at home if you want._"

Rio pouted, but if she knew what was good for her she shut herself up and sat down to hide the nervousness that made sweat drip on the side of her face. At his mention of juice, the memory of the day after excursion had resurfaced. During club time she had been approached by her bespectacled friend innocently with a tumbler in her hand as she offered her some juice to try without mentioning that Karma had been the one that instructed her to do so. The minute she found out, she had already gulped down some of it assuming it was 'safe because Manami-chan made it', but not too long after she felt the liquid burn her tongue menacingly as it left a horrible aftertaste that had tears flow out of her eyes absentmindedly – what's more, she even felt her nose start to become runny as its insides had transformed into goop from the spicy drink. That wasn't even the most part; in her frantic search for a beverage, her agony only added up once she saw the empty fridge and how her own water had been splashed on the floor – all of which were caused by the redhead that blocked her from getting out of the door with a sadistic grin and demonic eyes that thirsted for revenge as he hit his thumb rapidly on the capture button of his iphone; and she was sure those photos wouldn't be kept privately.

Rio shuddered as she could feel the terrible sensation come back just by the simple memory of it and covered her face in stimulus.

A while had passed and everyone had returned to wasting away the club hours by whatever it is they had that would ease boredom; save for the raven-haired girl that returned to her cleaning . However, throughout the time, Rinka had secretly desired to join in with them – but her infuriation towards another silent member of this merry group and her issue with a certain blond had kept her from doing so.

At least, that's what she told herself as she kept herself busy with a book as she leaned by the wall in a cross-legged position – she wasn't so interested in its content for it had something to do with birds and aviation.

"Hayami, have you always been interested in that?" that voice was enough to bring a vein to her forehead – he hadn't talked to her since they've gotten here and now he starts with that; just being in the same room seemed to have brought a spark of irritation already, but when it came to talking, she wasn't able to keep her voice from sounding cold and disheartening.

"What? Now the things I read are your business?"

"No, but you just made things more clear for me." He kept his tone constant and uncaring from his position by the sink where he watched whatever events that came– he never really did change how he spoke to her since he had begun to act this way towards her. With that, he diverted his attention from her and kept himself occupied with a notebook he had been using for the past hour.

Rinka was already on the brink of throwing him off the window – but what stopped her from doing so at the moment was of course her own self-control and the new puzzlement she had gained from how vague what he told her just was. He hadn't been exactly clear with her lately and that aggravated her; this wasn't his usual self, but she couldn't quite get her finger around the cause of such.

"What are you talking about?"

"I wonder what. Try figuring it out even if you don't want to. You're good at forcing yourself to do things, right?"

_Whack_

The loud sound had grabbed everyone's attention almost immediately as their heads snapped to the origin of this abrupt noise. Manami, who had been busy with moving her bag to where all the others were had dropped it as her eyes widened slightly from the sight to her left.

Rinka had stood up from her rested spot and had a deadly glare on as her arm had appeared to have flung something to the direction where the sound had blared from. Once her lavender eyes had stopped on where her target was, she observed how Chiba's head had been tilted as he kept casual with hands in his pockets – behind him however was a hardbound book with a light blue cover that had whacked the wall behind him roughly and fell back on the floor accompanied with the sound of ruined paper as it landed open.

A few more seconds of a baffled quietude had run by as the merry atmosphere had dissipated and had been replaced with a tense air that led to Manami's breath being held unintentionally. Not too long after, the silence had been broken by the one who had been targeted in the first place.

"You missed."

Rinka's fists balled as her knuckles quickly turned white from the boiling rage that coursed through her body because of that – she was already furious, and he had only made it worse with that single stupid remark; honestly, she wanted to rip his hair off by grabbing him by it and shoving him halfway across the room – but she didn't. She only remained glued to where her feet were as if her body was too overcome by emotions to even do anything – it wasn't just rage that filled her up, but it was also a shred of hurt that enveloped her.

Not just because what he said was insensitive, but the words hit to close to home that even she couldn't deny it. Sick of the feeling, she kept her gaze down for her hair to serve as the curtain between the audience and whatever expression she had on at the moment while she gathered her things and stormed out of the room with the slam of the door. No words were spoken in the middle of her departure as each just followed her steps until she had vanished from their sight – except for the one that angered her in the first place, since he was sure no one did anything for they had not witnessed it.

"What…just…?" Sugino had interrupted everyone's individual thoughts on the scene as he raised an eyebrow to where the stoic girl had run off to.

Yuzuki was the first to take action as she lifted herself from her seat and prepared to put her shoes on to head for wherever the orange-haired girl . Soon after, Manami had taken her shoes as she and the brunette had thought of the same thing. Karma on the other hand had chosen to look into this scene first by taking a glance at the shabby-haired sniper – he couldn't tell if his eyes were downcast, but his head was indeed lowered; guilt, perhaps? No, there was something there that he saw through. And once he did, he called them out before they could leave

"Wait. Leave her be." he leaned back on his arms for support as he said this humorlessly.

"But—" Manami tried but was cut off by the redhead before he could listen to her reasons.

"This isn't your matter to deal with. It's hers." It sounded more like a parental type of warning from the way it came out

Despite this command of his though, it had not been taken into consideration for it had been immediately argued with by the otaku whom crouched in the corner as she tried to get her black school shoes back on "Karma-kun, Hayami-san might be in need of someone to talk to right now."

He was about to answer back to that, but that was until he had come up with something better in mind and stood from his seat "You deal with it then." He positioned his hands behind his head in a carefree manner as he walked out the door with a bored expression.

Manami jogged to the door and peeked her head outside of it to see him walk even further away with bewildered purple orbs.

Yuzuki scoffed at his attitude "What's with him?"

Not a minute after he had left, Rio was the next to stand up from her seat and prepare herself to walk out in the same fashion the redhead just did – this earned her a raised eyebrow from the mangaka wannabe "Rio-chan, don't tell me you're leaving too?" there was a hint of disappointment in her tone under the inquiry.

"He has a point." She worded this out like an agreement and made her way out of the room past the braided girl in a slow pace as those who were left watched her exit the same direction and like him, didn't bother to close the door.

Yuzuki's brow twitched once from annoyance – some attitude they decide to put up when it's her but if it's someone else (example: Manami), they're entirely different. With a low yet still audible voice, she muttered "Hayami-san is our friend too…" without another word, she properly put her shoes on and dashed out the door to the opposite side of where the other two had ventured to.

This left only three people in the room now – it was about to be decreased to two until the poison glasses stopped in her tracks just by the door to turn back at the other sniper who hadn't made one sound since she left. On further notice, she had observed how he had his head lowered as his form had somehow sunk onto the sink he leaned his body on.

Sugino whom still hadn't moved from his spot on the floor stared up at him questioningly as his brows had furrowed in such a way that he suspected something "Oi…Chiba…don't tell me you…"

Chiba kept himself mute and remained unmoving. It was hard to tell whatever emotions he had most of the time since he himself was not expressive and there was the obstacle of his hair blocking away the meaning behind whatever color of orbs he has under them – but Manami didn't know why, but she was able to decipher something behind the complexity of what he may be feeling right now. His lips had formed into a frown as his hands only weakly held on to the edge of the table, as if heavy-hearted.

She didn't know how she caught on with this, but she had had the same thought as Sugino when she came up with a realization "Did…did you do that on purpose?"

Judging from the silence that followed and the slump of his form on the piece of furniture, she had figured it out. "Why…?" her brows had furrowed with concerned inquisitiveness while she stepped back inside the room to crouch by the spiky-haired boy whom had the same level of worry as she did.

Seeing as this was not something he could keep unanswered for the persistence they had displayed him with their unwavering gazes that searched him for answers – with a sigh, he finally gave in with a low, emotionless tone "She's been lost lately."

"Lost?" Sugino raised an eyebrow with the tilt of his head at the unexpected response.

"Mm." Chiba nodded and lifted his head to where he could view what was outside the window – somewhat similar to how one would reminisce on a bitter memory "Hayami…has always got a clear sight on her target. But lately, she's been distracted and couldn't get her hand on what she wants…I'm just trying to get her back on track." The last few words had come out with a sense of matter-of-fact to it – however there had still been some other emotion the other two in the room couldn't quite decipher that laced it.

"So you said all those things just so she could straighten up?" Sugino asked again, just to clear things up a bit on this reason behind his actions.

"If it displeases you, you don't have to sympathize with me." The dark-haired sniper stated bluntly as he reverted his attention from the window and back to them.

Manami gave his words some deep thought; true enough, recently she had noticed how the ginger would stray away from them most of the time – especially when it involved a particular blond-haired girl – even though there was that teensy hunch she had that that wasn't what she really wanted.

A frown had graced her features once she'd firmly grasped that. Behind the way Chiba was acting, there was a good cause – but it dismayed the bespectacled girl how Hayami didn't know about such and she would really like for them to get back to how they used to be without a problem. And she knew well who could be able to clear up this misapprehension between them since most were out of the question.

"Chiba-san…you should talk to her about this and make it clear." Manami suggested with a tone full of worry for the two having a conflict – however, the reactions she had gained from such a recommendation were far from agreement.

"O-Okuda, there's no way she's gonna talk to him after that." Sugino's eyes moved to the side where she sat as he sweatdropped for the umpteenth time that day once he had let the unbelievable suggestion reach his ears – Chiba had shown the same emotion towards that idea of hers with the slight purse of his lips and "Precisely what he said."

The shy chemist let out a dejected hum as her eyes moved to her entwined upon her lap "But…Nakamura-san and Karma-kun don't want to talk to her. And then…I don't think Fuwa-san can help much with this since I notice how Hayami-san has difficulty in listening to her which I think is caused by their unmatched personalities. Then, well…I can't talk to Hayami-san properly so I'm out of the question." Another upset hum escaped from her lips as the fingers around each other tightened somewhat, she was troubled due to her lack of being able to come up with something for both of them to get along once more.

What the stoic sniper responded with next was not in her expectations "Why not?" it was said firmly – much unlike the previous occurrences where had spoken; this one came out like he was more of curious rather than implying that he wanted her to do it.

"Why—?"

"Why _can't_ you talk to her properly?" it wasn't a demand, but it was solid and had a yearning to it – as if knowing would be able to clear something up for him. Manami who had been brought into a small stammering episode had a little trouble in looking for a response because of the sudden overflow of thoughts she had with the inquiry.

"Eh—Er…How…Um…you won't get offended?" She chose to ask that first before speaking her opinions honestly in fear that he might take them the wrong way – well, one reason was because of the (complicated) relationship she knew they shared, she wouldn't want to offend them in any way.

But what she got from him was the simple yet serious shake of his head which was also a sign that he wanted her to go on and he'd listen carefully. The small girl sighed and arranged her thoughts before she began "Hayami-san…well…she feels very far away to me. I could compare her to an adult that knows what she's doing all the time, so…when I see her I feel like whatever I do could be wrong in her eyes – she just looks like she's ahead of everyone…so I get a little conscious about me getting in the way of her clear path because I'm like this…and moreover…" she trailed off and had her eyes fall downcast, as soon as she did though, a memory had flashed in her mind.

_'If you can't handle something, or don't want to handle something, it's best you just don't'_

"She scolded me that time. It gave me the feeling that I'm just a child to her…" she finished off and didn't even spare a glance at the two boys in the room that lent their ears to her respectfully.

Not too long of a time passed until Chiba answered back to this "Okuda-san, you misunderstand Hayami."

"Eh?" Manami blinked and raised her head to him quizzically – once more, the female sniper had been caught in another misinterpreted mess; not really all that surprising, but it had occurred a number of times in a day already.

"I believe I have the right to say you do." He continued – his mood had appeared to have shifted to a better one.

"How come?" Sugino had chosen to take that for her – he was aware that the orange-haired sniper does a lot of things people mistake for as something else and this was no exception; however, he would also like to find out some other things that may be significant to know underneath that fact.

Chiba didn't even take a moment to contemplate on his reply as the next set of sentences were worded out in that same monotonous fashion he always put up "Back then, when Mimura was still around, a suspicion grew within her one day due to the fact that you looked tired lately – she was able to tell because it reminded her of herself when she went through the same thing." Manami's eyes were fixed on the taller boy as she had put to mind everything he had been telling her with a mix of mild astonishment and interest "When you and Fuwa-san were in the lab after club that day, she was supposed to go to you and warn you of the incident she had predicted if you continued. But from what she told me, you _enjoyed_ helping others and have a desire to do such. So she chose to leave you to experience it for yourself. She wasn't scolding you – she only said that because that was the only time her words would work; she doesn't want that to happen again, and she wanted to be sure that it doesn't after she tells you – Hayami…" the rare occasion of a smile upon this boy's lips had just ensued (which secretly brought the others in the room into an astonished state) at the thought of the girl and what he was about to say "never liked wasting after all..." he turned his head to face the eyeglasses-ed girl properly again "It may seem like a lecture…but from what I know, that's just her way of being friendly." The smile had still been kept on, albeit it being tiny and almost non-existent – it was there, and to reassure the eyeglasses-ed girl was not the only reason for it.

It took a while before it all sunk in for the introverted scientist – eyes were wide, however they had a certain depth to them that indicated she was taking these words to heart and that she analyzed them enough to eventually bring herself to believe in them. Not any longer, her expression softened as she smiled warmly – so all this time, she'd been overthinking again "I never thought she saw me that way…"

Chiba had tilted his head ever so slightly as the smile had become more evident on his features – pleased that he was able to get that through her head "Hayami's not expressive, so I'm not surprised if you mistake her actions as something entirely different."

"Mm..." Manami nodded and let her gaze linger on the table in the midst of her relishing that fact "I think I've come to understand her a little more now."

Throughout the time, no one had realized that behind what remained of the sliding door left ajar leaned a particular blond with her arms crossed on her chest as she eavesdropped on her other clubmates. She had left the impression that she had departed from the room in such an uncaring manner so as to appease her ego – and to hide the fact that she had her eyes half-lidded with a frown on her face as she had started to have second thoughts on the girl she had also come to misinterpret.

* * *

"Hayami-san…"

The corridor was empty where two girls had stood a fair distance away from each other. An orange light reflected itself on the windows and poured onto the smooth, cemented floor – along with it came the shadows that loomed over it from the said windows and the figure of the two, motionless girls that enveloped themselves into a silence. A girl with orange hair and low pigtails kept her back turned to the brunette that had somehow followed her into this isolated hallway. Despite how she almost always kept herself quiet, this one had a sense of intimidation to it as the tense air built up between her and the otaku whom had her eyes brimming with concern.

"Mm…" Yuzuki hummed uncomfortably – unsure of what she could say to her knowing that the girl, albeit mature for her age, still had a particular stubbornness to her character that would be hard for one to get through. The moments that passed on felt like several minutes as not a sound had been made except the creaks of some of the opened windows from the wind that would drift by occasionally.

Rinka had to make an effort to keep her mouth from quivering and her emotions from spilling out when she finally broke the intense atmosphere with a barely audible, yet dangerous voice "What?"

"Er – Uhm…" This brought Yuzuki into a brief stutter for she had not expected to get an answer in the first place – and there was that spine-chilling tone of hers that excused such a reaction. Once she finally regained her composure and set her thoughts straight a little, another hum escaped her lips – this time out of concern.

"Hayami-san…I've been thinking lately…" As she said this, Rinka had to clench her fists and grit her teeth in order for her not to be suspected of the frustrated tears that threatened to come out of her glossy emerald eyes.

"Acting doesn't suit you…" Yuzuki stated this with seriousness and intentionally wanted her to think about her words before she walked off – knowing that was the most she could do at the moment; Karma and Rio had a point, this is a self-struggle, but she couldn't bring herself to let her think she's all alone with it – she wants her to know that people care too.

Rinka didn't respond to this, but it loosened her fists and let her hands relax by the sides of her thighs. Those words had put a certain weight on her heart that got rid of the frustration, but it replaced it with something else – and not even that was good, for the emotion the otaku had left with her was a mix of guilt and self-loathing. Albeit that, she didn't form a grudge on her for saying that.

It was true, that's why.

* * *

That night, a raven haired girl laid in her bed with her signature pale yellow pajamas and let her dark locks spread about on her white pillow as she faced the white ceiling in her now dim bedroom. Her glasses that had been folded along with the hair ties she would use the next day were placed on one of the desks right next to her bed where there were also a few books arranged meticulously with a reading lamp by it.

The room wasn't so grand – it was plain, but it was cozy. She had her all-white, fluffy bed with its headboard designed with simple embroidery of what one may assume as roses stuck to the also white wall. The only light from the room came from the windows to the left side of where she lay for she had not brought the curtains together – the summer heat stayed at night time as well, after all. She also had a ceiling fan attached to reduce the temperature and provide her with cool air while she slumbered. A rolling chair and some footstools and a few shelves could be found here and there – most of which would contain science books and some of her tools and other belongings like gifts or essential necessities for a female. In between the two brown shelves stationed in the corners of her room was a desk mirror with drawers that barely had anything inside except for a few hair ties and contact lenses she dare not touch (she was too afraid to use them so she hid them there). Another convenient component of this room was that she had her own bathroom – that had to be the only other colorful part of the room for it was designed with neat baby blue tiles that matched the darker hue of the carpeted floor.

Lavender eyes that saw everything in a blur were kept open as Manami had lost the ability to bring herself to sleep with all of the thoughts that swam through her mind endlessly. They were not ill-natured – instead they brimmed with ideas and other blissful thoughts.

_'That's just her way of being friendly…'_ she smiled when his words played in her head once again for probably the fifth time that night. She was wondering what she could do when she saw her tomorrow now that she knew what she hid behind that serious demeanor she always put up; and how she would begin to treat her as a friend instead of feel so idiotically nervous around her. The image of the stoic girl came to view in the midst of her thought process – she found it a nice feeling to know that she was there and cared for her even though she had been so distant recently; Manami found it quite unfair that they hadn't considered her view on things and immediately felt bad about being one of them who failed to understand her. But now that she has things set right-

_I'll talk to her at lunch time tomorrow…_ she slid her eyelids shut with a smile of resolution. But something about this feeling she had right now had brought up a spark of nostalgia and caused her eyes to open a little again.

_I felt something like this before…_

Just then, the memory of a starry night sky in the spring came about – following it, a stack of notebooks under a reading lamp and an empty bottle that was yet to be filled with the experiment she worked on in her own mini-science lab where the smell of cakes wafted from.

Now, her mind had flashed the picture of Hayami Rinka – the time she fought with Karma when she complained about their lack of productivity, the times she would occasionally talk to her to remind her of a few things, then to when she left the room looking a little disheartened; it would be nice if she didn't make such a face again – that was the resolve she had formed that night before she picked up her glasses and got out of bed.

Quietly, but with haste, she stepped out of the room and into the small hallway where her room hid by the corner of the wall. The dinner table light was on – that must mean her caretaker had just arrived home from one of her part-time jobs.

The sound reverberations of a microwave could be heard, that must mean she took the dinner she had left there for her; it would be good not to bother her and make this quick.

Manami turned to the next room where she found a telephone sitting by the window where the stars twinkled beautifully above the city's heads – for some reason, it was like there was a multitude of them tonight as each one had their own unique glow and character; this reminded her of the same night she had done this which the chemistry-lover deemed to be quite the amusing coincidence.

She remembered his number despite having only done this once; but in no time at all she had her ear on the receiver and patiently waited for the reply as the ringing sound took up her right ear. She wouldn't mind if he didn't pick up it was rather late – 9:30 if you estimated the time, but fortunately enough he was still up and about as a voice came from the other line.

"Hello? Karma-kun?"

"Okuda-san?" her name came out slowly – like he was unsure of who it was for a second. The uncertainty had died down fast once she had answered back.

"Uhm, well. I'm sorry for calling you really late at night again for this. But…" the silence from the other end served as an indication that he was willing to listen to what she had to say this time – he had a small feeling he was quite sure of what it was. Manami took a moment to breathe in before she would relay this decision she had crafted in the middle of her contemplation before bed "I'm going to talk to Hayami-san tomorrow. I…I want her and Chiba-san to get along and…for her to get along with everyone else." A bright smile graced her face as she kept her gaze on the night sky with determined purple orbs that glistened behind the reflection of stars on her spectacles "I finally understand her. I want everyone else to understand her too; so that what she does can reach out to everyone in the way she wants them to."

A few quiet moments passed by and the poison glasses was beginning to wonder if she had worded that out correctly and studied through what she said for any mistakes – she made a small sound of surprise when she heard him again from his line.

"Were you reminded of yourself?" this had left the bespectacled girl in a brief bemusement as she had fallen into the hands of her memories yet again.

The days that had ended not too long ago – those days of loneliness and uncertainty…they had not left a good memory, but they had left her with a brilliant lesson she learned the hard way. She knew the feeling all too well; and she'd hate for it to happen to anyone. Both hands had now wrapped themselves around the receiver as her eyes had traveled down to her feet.

"Mhm…"

On the other end of the line, Karma leaned back on the wall where he sat in an indian position and had a bowl of snacks just next to him. A satisfied smile crept up to his face the moment she had given him her response – that was enough reassurance for him to count that she'd avoid situations like that now. With his mind at ease, he stifled a barely audible chuckle "Good." And he could tell she smiled back at this.

"By the way, is this going to be regular thing for you?" by 'this', he pertained to the seldom event where she would discover a certain amount of determination and decide to tell him about it. A few stammers came from where she was as a sign of her embarrassment and surprise to the question. She probably thought that it troubled him again – but the reaction he got out of her made him chuckle.

"I-Is that a bad thing?"

"I wouldn't call it a bad thing, but you can do what you want without telling me about it." He chewed on a cracker from his bowl of mixed finger food as he listened to her hum with a mix of discomfort and disappointment which caught his attention.

"But…I want Karma-kun to know." He stopped himself from taking another snack into his mouth after he heard this. From her end, she had a bittersweet smile on as she took the silence he gave her as permission to continue – even if he didn't actually give his permission, she would still tell him. "It's not to show off or anything but…I'm terrible for thinking this way but whenever I have this feeling…I want you to know about it; it's never happened to me before, that's why. And because you were the one that got me this far...I want you to know. 'Look Karma-kun, I've improved.' Or things like that…"

No response came, and this let a bad feeling turn in her stomach for Manami wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign – but she assumed it was the latter.

"If it's bothersome…please don't hesitate to tell me." Her voice had become low and forlorn by this time – it only added up when he didn't say anything for the next few seconds and a frown stretched her face.

Then another chuckle came from him. But for some reason…she had this suspicion that he only forced it out and pursed her lips. It sounded like the usual chuckle, but from the time she'd known him, she could tell that something had to be off with this one.

"Aw, don't say that Okuda-san. If it bothered me I would've told you, right? And…" he paused to think of which words were appropriate "Maybe being the one you like to show-off to isn't such a bad thing." A smile spread across his face before he took another snack and listened to her laugh along with a sigh of relief.

Before she could say goodbye, he heard a few mysterious patting sounds and other busy movements and began to wonder what was going on over her place until another voice came.

"Hey, brat."

"You're not Okuda-san." He replied immediately as his smile had quickly transformed into a smirk when he quickly figured out who it was. The other voice grumbled in annoyance which only gave him enjoyment on his end – oh it was always fun to toy with this woman.

She seemed to have chosen to ignore his impudence for the time being and just continued with what she wanted to say to him "In any case—"

A small _cluck_ and the line was dead. He had hung up before she could tell him her concern.

Inari's eyes narrowed and had her eyeballs move to the side where the telephone was with irritation as a few veins popped on her forehead. With another grumble, she dialed the number "You hung up on purpose didn't you—"

She regretted ever calling him again for the second it was picked up, a strong, earsplitting blare had come from the other side. If she were to presume what he had used to get on her nerves this time, it was a hair dryer put on the highest setting blown directly into the receiver that forced her to slam the phone down – which had resulted to Manami to have milk she had been pouring onto a glass spread across the kitchen table.

"GODDAMN KID!"

* * *

**please do not fret about the happenings in this chapter because I'll be sure to explain them next chapter XDD  
**

**Speaking of, I'm already working on it! *ClapClap***

**So...thoughts? 8DD I apologize if this chapter wasn't as quality as the others...I'm not even sure if this can even be counted as 'quality' 8""D  
**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW BECAUSE LOVE AND SUPPORT MAKE MY DAY (And the chapter lol XD)**

**I'll post the final of this arc next! Stay tuned! (It feels like a bad romcom now...)**

**So...yeah nothing else to say here until the next XD**

**WITH LOVE ~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	11. Chapter 11

**OKAY! I'll make this really brief because right now I'm being yelled at to reach my relative's party but then I vowed to myself I'd post before leaving because progress is gold. **

**Sorry I took long again and in advanced for whatever rushed scenes there were in this chapter - also because I'll admit some parts were infected with a deadly virus called WRITER'S BLOCK 8"D**

**okay let's get with those responses before my fake eyelashes hurt too much LOL XD (Okay TMI)**

**TheRoseShadow21: AW YOUUU you make me feel all giddy with that thank you very much. I actually get afraid sometimes when things get cliche 8"D And I'm glad you liked that part too! Seriously when the thought came while I was eating lunch in Mcdo I got stared at by other customers for laughing alone so suddenly X'3 And I don't think anyone will find out what Omo-chan is 8( Well I'm pleased to say here it is! ^w^**

**kawaiichoconeko: NEKO-CHAN YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL TOO. And the latest chapter of ABC's was hilarious and absolutely adorable this time! Manami be like "Karma-kun likes dark tunnels? He must be a sad boy..." is what I kinda thought the thought and it was really funny lol XD **

**Sweetmoegirl: Thanks! I actually only started to ship them when I had this chapter thought up! And aww thanks for telling me that! I really like it when people tell me what they think is notable since it inspires me and makes me feel good about the scene formulation! AND AW SHUSH But thanks anyway ;w;**

**I12BFree: Only one way to find out~! O3)/**

**Akabane-san: No, thank YOU for reviewing in the first place! I love you too!Thanks for pointing out parts you like since they always make me feel good about how I wrote scenes and they inspire me to make other similar to it. Karmanami will rule this fanfiction site soon *n* **

**natsuki DDS: Thanks for reviewing! And omg I'm not that great I just write what I can and I just really hope I can get far enough in the story to have a respectable hiatus.(SINCE SCHOOL'S ABOUT TO START) But anyway thanks for saying the romance that I just shot through the walls with a messy paintball gun isn't a bad thing 8""D And THANKS THAT MADE ME GRIN LIKE "AW ROMCOMS ;w;"**

**Alright! LET US GO MY WEABOO NAKAMA! **

**Oh wait my lawyer's here Disclaimer: I DONT OWN THIS WONDERFUL FRANCHISE!**

**Okay! Let's go!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Miss Understanding (Part 2: I want to get along with everyone) [END OF ARC]**

_'He skipped classes again…'_

Nakamura Rio sat laxly on her desk; an elbow rested on the desk to have a palm upon her chin as she yawned – she had been bored to death for the past 55 minutes due to the study hall their English teacher, Sakagami Maria, had to hold before their lunch time. The assignment she had left them with was to read and understand a novel written by one of her favorite authors called 'And Then There Were None.' Rio had already tackled this book and considered it to be one of her favorites among all the English novels she'd read in her lifetime – mysteries always did spark up the interest of this adventure-loving trickster.

Though fortunate it may be to be more advanced than all else in the room, being ahead had its disadvantages for it had left her with nothing to do – she didn't even have that many people to consider a friend in her class since she didn't really find anyone worthy of her attention. Moreover, the one she would consider as 'close' (if that was the word to use when she would describe their relationship) in her classroom barely even showed up during class hours. And then there's the other two…

The lazy trickster rotated her head to where she knew the stoic duo's desks were – which were at around the last few rows. The girl who had walked out just a day ago was standing by her seat on the fourth row and had busied herself with some of the summer homework they had been given today by their other teachers; and for some reason she had been put in charge of giving the ever-famous class skipper his own share of the work so it added up to what she had to do (since she was about the only other girl there that took things seriously with him). The authorities couldn't really have a say in this behavior of his for it did nothing to affect his grades whatsoever – but that wasn't what was important right now. Rio shifted her stare to the other, whom only sat quietly on his desk in the back-most row – she couldn't really tell what he was thinking or what he was looking at because of the hair that always blocked people away. But it was clear to her that he wasn't in the best mood right now; the reason for such was perfectly clear. They had not interacted with each other for the entire day – which could be deemed normal under the circumstances they were in; however, just seeing the both of them that way didn't really sit right with the blond.

She turned her attention back to the girl who now had her papers and other materials properly arranged upon her desk – what was also pleasant to the eye was the eye-catching precision she had applied to her organization of things. Not one stood out as it was like it had become the epitome of fastidiousness. And though Rio now had mixed feelings about the girl, she still couldn't bring herself to have a proper conversation with her despite being classmates and practically on the same row; there was still a huge awkwardness in between them (and there was how both were just stubborn).

While Rio occupied herself with these thoughts, the lunch chime had already rung – it was hard to notice some change when you have your head in the clouds, especially when the class was already noisy even before the hour even started. And just as she had come to reality yet again, she was right on time to see how Rinka had passed by Chiba's chair without sparing him a glance or even acknowledging his presence there – as if she treated him as thin air or pretended he never existed as she exited the room in a bit of a hurry.

This wasn't anything to fret about since that had not been the first time she had done it today as Rio continued to stare blankly. Usually she would notice how they left the room to have lunch together since she would spend her break inside the classroom while she would probably harass someone if they were worthy enough (or if they irritated her) – but there was no surprise in that action of the sniper's for this blond.

But that was until the other stood up from his desk casually and headed to the door.

This was nothing very notable or any of the sort for it was just him simply leaving the classroom in no haste, but it had caught her attention and had led to her having a few suspicions pile up in her mind as she felt her brows furrow in the midst of her thought process.

_'Don't tell me…did he go after her?'_

She watched on for a few more seconds to ease her qualms – but they had been answered by the time she saw him leave in exactly the same direction she did.

Without hesitation, Rio lifted herself from her desk.

* * *

"One Omelet rice please."

The lower ground cafeteria bristled with students of all years. The smell of rice and other foods and condiments flew through the air and gave pleasure to the noses of those inside it. Unlike the simple hallways and other facilities of Kimii, this one had to be the most colorful and most creative – just to suit the accompaniment of good food and delighted taste buds. There were color schemes and artistically drawn calligraphy on the wall here and there that matched whichever store, courtesy of the painting club. The stalls were simple and organized, but it complemented well with the colorful surroundings and pale blue tiled floor. In one of those stalls, a short-haired otaku girl with a profession called manga-reading had politely taken her tray of omelet rice and soup.

Just as she was about to grab her chopsticks though, a loud slam that shook the same counter her tray had been on nearly gave her a heart attack. When she turned to inspect what on earth had caused such a commotion, she was shocked (to say the least) when she found that an orange-haired friend of hers had her fist above some money as she barked her orders monotonously but with command.

"Get me one yakisoba, red bean bread, sweet raisin toast, fresh bagel with cream, fried oreos, yakiniku with egg on top, strawberry yoghurt and pineapple juice, please." Rinka had on a terrifying stare that made it look like she'd been stressed out and cranky all day – the other customers behind her could only leave their mouths agape in disbelief of such a request; not to mention she wasted no time at all when saying this so it barely registered in the stall cook's ears as he too had astonishment written all over his face by this preposterous order _and_ how the girl who issued it stared at him like she was ready to kill.

"A-A-A-A-A-Aahhh Su-S-S-Sure!" the clerk stuttered in the midst of his shock recovery and nervously worked on her order with fast (and frightened) hands. All the while, Yuzuki could only copy everyone else' dumbfounded expression while she watched the usually stoic sniper empty her wallet of food she doubted the girl would be able to finish – even if she were to have that much stomach capacity, the otaku predicts lunch won't be long enough to consume such an enormous amount of food for her size.

Rinka had left the stand with her extra filled tray (which had a few people staring at her like she was insane) with her constant, serious face back on. She looked like her usual self (save for the fact that she nearly emptied one stand of all its goods) – but the mangaka wannabe had a hunch that this was just her way of ignoring her emotions again. Naturally, she wasn't surprised to see her use something as a distraction from her problem; it happens to most people, and Hayami was no exception.

Figuring that she probably had no one to eat lunch with, the least Fuwa could do was to take initiative and try to talk to her and give her support on this issue albeit knowing what she said to her last time. She knew that it would most likely be awkward between the two of them, but no one's going to do that so she might as well – her gut told her to do so anyway.

"Hayami-san!" Yuzuki called for her just as she was about to climb up the stairs; Rinka usually had her lunches in the school garden since the cafeteria wasn't a place you would consider quiet in any way.

The one who had been called stopped in her tracks upon the stairs but did not turn her back to the origin of the voice. Fuwa, thinking she tried to pull the same thing she had done yesterday proceeded to jog over to the bottom of the stairs to try and have a proper conversation with her. "Hayami-san, wanna have…lunch…" she didn't even get to finish her sentence when she felt her eyes widen and the grip she had on her tray loosening up and nearly letting it fall – so she wasn't being given the silent treatment. Rather, the stoic girl had her focus on someone else; and at the same time the tension in the air seemed to have become so thick those near it would have difficulty in breathing.

Just above the stairs, about four steps directly from where the pigtailed girl currently froze in place, the reason for her stress and mental fatigue had his hands inside his pockets as he stared down at her without a spec of emotion present. Rinka only stared back with mild surprise for a few seconds until she regained her composure and diverted her eyes from him– this had caused the otaku who had watched such a display to gulp unintentionally as she too had found herself immobile from the tense atmosphere. At the same time, a blond had arrived from one of the cafeteria doors conveniently near the flight of stairs where this scene was happening in a nick of time.

The emerald-orbed girl was the first to break the silence with a tone only a little above a whisper, but still loud enough for both the girl below the steps and the one above it "What? Are you going to apologize?" her eyes had been blocked from Chiba's view with her orange bangs at the downward movement of her head.

Chiba spoke a little louder than she did – the casual voice he put on all the time when talking to her "I don't plan on apologizing…" his head lowered as an indication that he turned his gaze to the amount of food on her tray then back to her.

"I told you."

Not even a blink was faster than the time it took for Rinka to throw the tray at him.

* * *

"Ah, Okuda-san!"

Manami, who had been walking to the cafeteria casually, had to halt and turn her head when the familiar voice called for her with the accompaniment of footsteps from the hallway behind her. To her pleasant surprise, it was her sporty clubmate and previous classmate jogging over to where she was with an energetic beam on.

"Oh, good afternoon Sugino-kun." She greeted back warmly with the slight bow of her head in respect.

"It's quite rare to see you around here. You didn't bring a bento?" he inquired from her politely as they now walked side by side to the double doors of their desired destination just along the school gardens and the club bulletin boards.

"I brought one, don't worry – it's just that I know this is where Hayami-san has lunch." She faced the doors and helped her companion with getting them both inside.

He looked at her quizzically with the small tilt of his head to face the shorter girl properly and continued once they started going down the stairs "You have business with Hayami-san?"

The eyeglasses-ed girl shook her head which let her braids bounce a bit behind her shoulders "I wouldn't call it business but…" she moved her gaze to the ceiling and let her hands tie themselves behind her "Today, I'm going to talk to her and help her make up with Chiba-kun." She worded this out quite calmly, but the determination she had in her eyes could not be denied – this brought a relieved smile to the boy's face as he stretched his arms to the back of his head.

"Okuda-san, you've really changed, huh?"

Manami kept her now half-lidded eyes on the white, concrete ceiling as her bright smile had shifted to one of reminiscence "I guess so…"

Sugino grinned with satisfaction and delighted eyes – it was nice to see the results of all that happened bloom without fail or leaving everything they've gone through all for naught. He was happy that she now stuttered less when speaking and that she wasn't so afraid to let people know about her feelings anymore; it showed that none of that had gone to waste and that she'd learned her lesson. Other than that, it was pleasant to know that she was quite an interesting one to have a conversation with when she's relaxed. Last year, he didn't find a lot of chances to be able to talk to her because of the introverted personality that tended to create awkward situations when starting a small chat. There was even a part of him that felt a bit guilty about not pushing a little effort in becoming her friend at the time – but he supposed it was useless to look back on those now for this is what they were today. They weren't exactly all that close compared to the others, but they found nothing bothersome in each other's company and got along well due to some similarities in their personalities; therefore it had been easy to have some conversation with her once in a while.

"Well, wish you luck with that." He gave her a thumbs up which she received with a pleased smile and the nod of her head.

"I'll try my best—"

Just before she could finish, a loud crash had interrupted their word exchange – the noise seemed to have come from the next flight of stairs they were just about to head for. After quickly recovering from shock, the two exchanged an anxious look before they rushed to the source of the unfriendly sound.

"What's going on?"

"A fight?"

Whispers of the sort broke out from the bottom of the stairs; at the same time, Manami's eyes were first greeted by an ugly disarray of food scattered on the floor pitifully with a now stained brown tray that didn't look like an easy dishwashing for the staff. But that wasn't what was important at the moment for as her lavender eyes traveled from the floor to the ones who had caused such a mess, she was met with the intense scene of another feud between the two who had been in conflict recently – only this time, she could really feel how intense it was for the moment she was able to fully take in what was happening, she and her spiky-haired friend were left dumbstruck and motionless.

Hayami Rinka had a shadow loomed over half of her face due to her bangs – her teeth were visibly clenched as her figure shook from the overflow of emotions which were mostly linked to frustration. Fists were balled so tight her nails hurt her palms and her knuckles had gone white from the rage that pulsated around her body.

The one who had been hit on the other hand had an expression of shock which left his mouth slightly agape at such a rash action. No food had gotten on him or his uniform for the tray had been the one to fly at him first and had served a shield from the stains her meal would've given him – but Chiba didn't consider it as something to be all that thankful for because right now the epitome of animosity stood before him with a fit of rage she was just about ready to unleash.

They were now the center of attention of half the population of the cafeteria who were within the vicinity of the staircase – but neither had even given such a petty thing a single thought as Rinka was the first one to speak in a shaky but threateningly bilious tone.

"So…I've always been that way in your eyes?" Chiba had been left with nothing to say as he let her go on – he couldn't bring himself to think of words at the time anyway. "Was I always someone…someone that only did things for the sake of doing it to you? Did you always think that I could never have enough courage to do things I wanted?"

The next sentence came with a higher volume compared to the other ones –and it had been made clear that her emotions were already beginning to fall out; and this had to be her best effort at hiding them yet.

"Did you never…really trust me with anything at all?!" at this, she raised her head and revealed to him a pair of frustrated emerald eyes on the brink of releasing drops of salt water.

The dark-haired boy had a straight face on by this time, but once he saw that face she made, it felt like a bulldozer started wrecking things in his chest and filled him up with heart-wrenching pain that almost had his legs turn into jelly – but he kept his stoic face on and remained calm so as to not let any more people witness this and tried to reason out this time "Ha—"

"If I could've helped it…" she cut him off and started with another quiet and shaky tone, but this didn't last long at all for she had immediately followed it up with a loud, painful shout "I wouldn't have bought that mess on the ground just so I can make amends with you!"

At this, the members of the club who watched everything from their spots felt a sudden surge course through their body – not only because of the surprising exclamation, but the fact that they had never seen her pour so much emotion into something before; that wasn't even half of what she had felt at the time, but it already led to the four who served as part of the audience to feel a tugging pain in their chests.

By then, her eyes appeared to have twitched from the amount of water she'd been holding in for too long of a time now as she kept them seared on the boy who now had evidently showed how taken aback he was by this. His jaw dropped and with it his foot had unconsciously stepped back in reflex to this rare sight.

"A-And then…what the hell was that?" Rinka's mouth now quivered from the sudden outburst – she was about to break apart, but she had to say a little more to ease the wreck of unnerving emotions that took over her mind at the moment as her gaze had fallen to the floor and shoulders shook in her attempt to hold everything in again "What the hell was that 'I told you' for?!"

Rinka glared back up at him only to see how he had his serious, unreadable expression on him again – he didn't even _look_ sorry for what he did, nor did he seem like he was about to either. It was blank; he was just staring back at her blankly as if he didn't just listen to everything she said – even if he did, he acted like they did nothing to him; like saliva had been wasted on such petty cries. And if her already boiling anger were to be measured by a gauge, it would have exploded and left a mess too big for even an octopus moving at Mach 20 to clean up by himself.

"You…callous moron you…!"

But even when she peered at him with all her might and crushed her teeth together to the point that they hurt, he did not move or say anything to make her feel better in any way. Getting tired of this, the orange-haired girl who had been through enough emotional turmoil gave him one last sour look followed by the narrowing of her eyes – in the end, he didn't answer to any of her questions; not even an action had been done to keep her from feeling like it was all true. Another second passed, and she couldn't handle it anymore; quickly, she turned tail and stormed past the short-haired brunette recklessly with clenched teeth and the iron will to not let anyone see how her face looked at the moment with the shield of her orange locks. She refused to let any more of her inner feelings out to the public eye and had only one desire – to be alone. Careful enough to not make any more of a scene than she already did, she left without sound; not even slamming the door open or closing it with force.

Chiba was left there, his body completely still as he had not said a word and slowly had his ears fill up with the whispers of the crowd of witnesses that came just a few seconds after her departure. The only ones that kept their silence since it had ended were the former members of 3-E; for all they did then was find themselves stunned by what had just unfolded. Not even the one who had plotted this out from the beginning expected such a reaction from her – but amidst all of the emotions that piled up without organization within him right now, he forced himself to keep his face apathetic.

And it was just then when a girl with twin braids zipped past from behind him with resolve in her eyes – braids flew with the speed of her sudden advance forward as she stepped down the stairs and followed the girl out to where she had escaped to without reluctance

Before Chiba had the chance to call out her name, another came after her with blond hair he was all too familiar of – he had also been oblivious to that girl's presence in the area, but this time he didn't even try to stop her.

Yuzuki was about to succeed them but stopped abruptly when she noticed something odd about how things were – it seemed to be the same thing with Sugino for he had not tried going after the emotionally unstable ginger and kept his eyes on the shabby-haired boy that had his head lowered and arms rested lifelessly on the side. Something about this was fishy for the both of them as they just examined how the male sniper took all of this in.

The metal clang of the door sounded twice as a sign that they had gone off now – leaving only three combat club members there with a relatively quieter cafeteria, a mess on the floor, and a bafflement that needed some explaining to have this chaos cleared up.

* * *

"Hayami-san!"

The poison glasses caught up with the pigtailed girl who only continued briskly walking away even at the call of her name. By then, they had reached an empty hallway of the main building's ground floor – this area was considered rather remote since the main building was an old facility; only used for appointments or private rehearsals that needed soundproof places, so naturally, the result was that the girls were the only ones present at the time.

The difference in the speed of their steps had resonated about in the isolated corridor of hollow white walls and cemented, grey-blue floor that reflected the figure of those standing above it. The sun had been blocked by the clouds and the trees that needed cutting within the vicinity – but there was enough daylight for them to see each other perfectly.

Rinka hadn't relaxed her fists since the moment she laid her eyes on him – in all honesty, the nails that dug into her skin might've made marks on her palms already for she could feel them starting to grow numb. Her shoulders were tense and stiff-looking from what the shorter girl could see as she followed through without any plans on letting this opportunity to talk slip past her.

"Hayami-san! Please try to listen!" Manami panted but made an effort to keep her words clear and resolute; the pace she tried to follow was challenging to keep up with.

Hayami chose that time to halt in her steps – which the chemistry maniac was grateful for, but she had not turned her back and only spoke to her malevolently after she let the small girl's hitched breaths die out "…You saw what happened?"

"Uh—" Her tone was nothing short of ominous and just downright disheartening even with its low volume – the bespectacled girl was aware that such emotions were not directed at her entirely, but it still had done some bone-chilling business on her as she had begun to feel a few ounces of nervousness wrap around the determination chokingly. In the end, she could barely get a hum of agreement out with the nod of her head.

"Mm…"

And they were quiet again – Rinka was obviously in no mood to have a talk with her right now, but she kept her feet glued to the floor because for some reason she had lost the ability to walk on after stopping. Right now, her body was a slave to her bombarding emotions; the only thing that kept her from bursting right now was the large effort of her mind to keep her from doing anything too reckless or immature-looking.

"Uhm…" Manami took a moment to gather her words – true, she was determined enough to talk to the girl about it, but there was still the intimidating air that danced around them; she was supposed to be prepared for such, but now that it was doubled, the science geek could only feel how her heart pounded against her chest from the anxiety of the likely event that the one in front of her would explode, and if the words that she planned to relay to her were the right ones in times like these. Whilst she pondered on this, the sniper only waited for her to speak – that, or she did not want to speak at all and let silence she put around them demand the other to start spilling whatever she followed her here for.

The mini scientist was not the best person to consult during situations such as these – she'd never been caught in the middle of an emotional clash before; but even if she had, an introverted character such as herself was never the person you'd expect to know what to say. But even if that was so, Manami exhaled the rest of her fretfulness and kept her head up out of concern for her friend "Hayami-san, I'm sure Chiba-kun didn't mean for it to go so far. I-If you just take a little time to understand each other for a while…and look past what things look like or try to read each other's minds—"realizing what she said, she mentally slapped herself; her lips let out a small squeak after that as she bit her thumb with eyes shut tightly _'That came out wrong!'_

"U-Uh! I-I didn't mean it tha—"

"Do you think you understand?" Lavender eyes blinked at the shaky tone that had come from the upset orangehead – it was no longer as threatening as it had been back in the cafeteria or compared to the first thing she said to her that day, but it was replaced with a feeling much harder to comprehend; but if one could guess, there was yearning in her voice underneath the bitterness of it which had this petite girl for another time taken aback, any of the words that were collected and arranged appropriately had just crumbled down and now spun around her head; leaving her lost in the confusion of her own thoughts. At the same time, the other who had followed them outside and had overheard most of the conversation had arrived just in time to hear the words come out.

"Uh—er…" the chemistry-lover's eyes moved from side to side in the uncertainty she had gotten herself mixed up into.

"If you do, then…tell me what I should do." She had to take a shaky breath to keep the pain from falling out and getting the perplexed girl behind her hurt – but by this time they were all ready to just break out of the dam and flood the area without remorse.

"But…Hayam—"

"Say I'm sorry when he's the one that started it out of nowhere? Wait for him to make the amends himself? To tell him he's right and I'm wrong just so we could get along? How am I supposed to face him?" despite how choleric it was worded out, no one could deny the fact that she too was lost in her own problem; that she too didn't know what to do and was in a desperate need for guidance.

Manami couldn't say anything after that. Her lips were pursed and her shoulders moved upward with guilt at her inability to find useful advice that would help this poor girl – but she couldn't bring herself to give her an honest answer of 'I don't know', for that would only make her feel like she had failed the one who finally looked to her for some counseling, and that she'd never be able to face herself again if she let her down now. Although this may be, she had not been able to come up with an answer as her crestfallen purple orbs nearly released streams of water in the middle of her frantic search for a good enough answer that may ease the emotionally fatigues girl's distraught – but this only added up to her agony for to cry in front of the one in pain just makes 'insensitive' an understatement.

Seeing how things were beginning to crumble apart, Rio chose this time to interject and step forth just a few steps after the raven-haired girl whom now had her dismayed expression changed into one of surprise

"Of course we don't understand." she said this disdainfully – her tone was harsh and left no room for any sugarcoating or naiveté which had resulted to the pigtailed girl to finally turn to them with twitching narrowed eyes that brimmed with disgruntlement upon realizing who it was and after registering the blunt remark.

"Na-Naka—"the blue-orbed blond shot the stammering glasses girl a warning look to not to get in the way before she could get to speak and continued.

"It's because you're so damn full of it we don't get you at all." Rio placed a hand on her waist and looked away – a form similar to what a child would do when they're proving themselves right.

Rinka scowled at her – there were almost no more boundaries that kept her emotions at bay by the time she had heard the trickster's voice. Not only was it because of the attitude, but because of the fact that they were the ones with the issue before this all started; first she hadn't talked to her properly since the day of that incident, and now that she does it's in this manner – one could only get so fed up.

"Hah? Exactly how am I—"

"You speak as if you're better than the rest of us here when in truth you don't really want to be, don't you?" the golden-haired girl returned the hostile glare as the intensity between them increased – leaving Manami to stand by and merely hope for the best out of this knowing she had no power to stop them now. Both girls were stubborn; but that was about the only part of them that was identical, and if you got in the way of that, things could only get uglier. "And yet here you are convincing yourself that the one at fault wasn't you; you're contradicting yourself. Are you guilty? Or do you think you're still right?" This interrogation wasn't just directed at what happened, but also back to that one time – a dim hall where no reverberations could be heard but the intense exchange of two girls that fail to see eye to eye.

Emerald orbs shrunk in disbelief and at how straightforward the girl was being right now. But rather than getting herself fumed by this, she instead felt a deep cut raze through her heart which resulted to the glare she once had to break apart and turn to one of hurt absentmindedly – however, this did not stop her from trying to retort back with a forward step of her foot. "Hey! You don't—"

"What? You're gonna deny me?" Rio scoffed callously before also stomping her foot down and pointing at her accusatorily "You act like you're the one who knows what's best, but you're no different than the rest of us!" Rinka wasn't even given time to react to this before the blond's voice boomed across the empty hallway in a furious explosion.

"It's your stupid adult-like mindset that's getting in the way of what you truly feel! Stop being such a coward and face yourself you troublesome child!"

Time seemed to have stopped after that – as if it wanted the stoic girl to let those words sink in completely and let her drown into an abyss of which she knows not if return was plausible. By then, her arms had fallen lifelessly along with the relaxation of her knuckles from such an intense grip as she could only stare back at the girl absolutely dumbstruck. Heck, even Manami caught herself unable to breathe due to such a harsh statement to an already emotionally rattled girl.

Rio didn't even try to look like she felt any sympathy and glowered at her – but this time it was not merely out of irritation for there was now a clear vision of her reasons for such an upsurge. It was never in her plans to humiliate the girl or get her to feel bad; no, it was to get her to come to her senses for her own good.

But the result the braided girl and the English veteran got was _not_ within their expectations…

_Hiccup_

"Mm?" the aforementioned duo hummed in confusion while they observed how her shoulders jerked up with the peculiar sound she just made.

Another one came – this time it was mixed in with a choked squeak and the quiver of her mouth.

Although both had a feeling they knew what was coming, that didn't stop them from exchanging a worried look and feeling a little anxious about what they had just done – especially the blond.

And after another second of ambiguousness, Rinka raised her head to the ceiling and bawled like a five year old.

Such a reaction gained her two simultaneous 'Ah!' 's of panic and just pure shock at what the pigtailed girl did right then – the consultant's shoulders both jolted upwards as their jaws dropped at the scene they had both deemed unlikely (though it was not so unlikely now since it was happening right before their eyes).

Rinka paid no mind to these reactions and carried on with her loud sobbing as she put an arm over her eyes in a failed attempt to keep more tears from flowing out. She couldn't bear it all in anymore – anything her that involved reason just got thrown out the window as she had been overtaken by the massive amount of feelings that she let out with every cry and every choke.

The other two found themselves unable to recover from their startled state and continued to watch her wail out all of her pain as the drops of water that stained the cemented floor did not cease to add up.

"Ha-Hayami! H-Hey—!" Rio was only able to yell this out of impulse and stepped forward with concern as she nearly reached for her to try and calm the… usually calm girl down – guilt slowly started to seep inside of her and start nibbling away her ego as if taunting her with _'Look what you did'._

"I'M SORRY!" the words were barely clear through the sobs and the brittle voice caused by her cries – but this had given her the full attention of the baffled pair of girls "I'm just so pissed! I'm so pissed at him!" albeit the loud bawls, Manami and Rio pushed enough effort to try and comprehend whatever the girl wanted to say to them – still far from gaining composure as the sniper poured out her emotions without organization and a runny nose

"I-I just wanted to get a summer job and even sacrificed the break because I was really looking forward to it! Because it was supposed to help me practice dealing with others! So that I can finally start trying to be friends with you! But then he just took that chance away from me because he knew I couldn't do it! He even said things like I'm just a disturbance to whoever was gonna go under me! What the hell?! He didn't have to rub my weaknesses at my face like an insensitive twat! I know not a lot of people think I'm the best person to be with and I was anxious about whoever may have been under me, but even still I went with it! **I was set on becoming your friend!** But then he just ruins everything! That stupidhead! He said I wasn't even trying to fix my problem and that's why he did it! When I said 'I'm doing what I can' he just straight up says 'I'm not convinced' and even rudely walked away after! What kind of jackass is he?! And then he even said that 'I'm just good at forcing myself to do things'! What's with him?! I have things I want to do too! Y-You know! Even after he did all that I still bought lots of food for us so that we can share it and make up! It was so hard to look at him or even talk to him, but I still did it! But then he even goes about saying 'I told you' when he didn't even know anything at all! I'm just so frustrated! What brought this on suddenly?! Why is he so honest and straightforward about it?!" Rinka paused for a bit to release a few more sobs as a bit of a respite from the long outburst. And even after she complained about a number of things, the two who listened to her remained dumbstruck – not only because of the still shocking response they got out of her, but now also of enlightenment from her side.

"Hayami-san…"

"Hayami…"

"Has he always thought of me that way?! Was I just a desperate girl in those stupid eyes of his I never even saw?! Even if it's all true he didn't have to say it like that! I'm so pissed! He pisses me off! That idiot! I hate him so much! **I hate him**!" she slapped her palms to her face and sobbed with her head facing the ground this time. Too overwhelmed by their own emotions, the three girls failed to keep aware of their surroundings for throughout the time, a particular boy whose hair had always kept anyone from seeing through him had listened in from behind a pillar. Arms were crossed over his chest as his lips were formed into a thin line – every single word she cried out did not fail to reach his ears, but even so, he kept his composure; and at the last three words, he raised himself from the pillar and walked away…

'Satisfied'

"But then…" the girl whose eyes were now blurred from the seemingly never-ending river of tears took her hands away from her face but kept her gaze fixed to the floor – her jaw hurt from frowning and yelling, but fortunately the sobs had calmed by now "I'm more pissed at myself because I knew that everything he said was true, and yet I just kept denying it and kept getting mad at him…! He's right…! I _did_ just force myself to take that job even if I had reasons. But…couldn't he have just told me in a better way?! Then again…I should've been the better person at the time instead of acted like a cranky Jelavic (bitch). I should've really explained to him why I did things! He only ever looked out for me…listened to me… But all I did was throw food at his face in the end! Now I'm out of money and I'm about to pass out from hunger! **I'm so sick of myself!** Why am I so stupid?!" the loud sobbing had come to an end by this time and had only left her with sniffles that would interrupt her mid-sentence most of the time.

"He probably sees me at an even dimmer light now! He's gonna rub it in my face again! It's just as you said Nakamura!" at the mention of her name and after she comprehended the orangehead's next words, the small guilt that had formed in the beginning of her crying spree had only grown into a vicious monster that slowly, excruciatingly, ate her alive "I always try to run away from things I found too big to handle and act so mature about it when I'm absolutely not! I'm just a child and no better than the rest of you! But…I really tried hard!" she paused for a while to take in a few more sniffles after another upsurge. Once she had gained control of herself, the tone she started with was less intimidating now – as if depression and self-loathing took over her entire form now

"But even if that's so…I ended up causing a big mess for everyone…! And I ended up losing the one person I trusted the most over something as petty as this! I'm so sick of it…! I'm so sick of dealing with myself!" looking exhausted from all the emotional turmoil, Rinka couldn't handle it anymore and slumped to the nearest wall and slid down the floor to continue sobbing.

Meanwhile, the other girls had come to recover from their baffled states and gave the orange-haired girl expressions of sympathy – they weren't aware that she'd gone through that much, and now that she'd opened up, things couldn't have been clearer for the two of them. And that's when Manami had a thought.

_'…when people like that come along…you'll be surprised to find out they're just like anyone else'_

_Hayami-san…is no different than the rest of us._

A small smile of compassion graced the short girl's face before she crouched down to the ginger's level. Hayami stared back at her with slightly confused eyes that still had tears welled up by the sides as sniffles came unintentionally – however, she listened.

"Hayami-san, please don't shoulder all of these hard emotions by yourself. We're all still kids trying to make our way to the real world…so it's okay for you to be this way. And…we can't deal with you unless you open up. Please try to count on us from time to time…I've learned that the hard way after all." She beamed brightly at her last set of words for encouragement "If you care about him that much, I'm sure there's no way Chiba-kun would think of you that way."

"Okuda-san…" was all she could muster to say after such a touching reassurance – the braided girl had come so far from where she'd begun.

"You can call me Manami." The bespectacled girl kept her beam on – and Rio had to admit she got a little jealous after hearing that.

"Man…ami…" she mumbled again, this time with a raise of her eyebrows at the permission she was given – quite overjoyed; for ever since she had overheard them back in the school excursion, she had also discovered this desire to call them by their first names.

The raven haired girl beamed at her again and nodded at the attempt for another guarantee that it was okay and that she didn't mind at all being called by her first name.

Rinka considered this as probably the best time to tell her how she'd been feeling the entire time – since she never had a proper conversation with her before, now could never be a better opportunity to finally get these things off her chest. "Y-You know…I've always felt bad about making you feel nervous all the time… So I'm sorry for that…And back then…" emerald eyes with tears by the sides had traveled down her cheek and onto the floor at her next statement "I really did do nothing but stand and watch…I was useless to both you and Nakamura…" Her runny nose and the constant wipe of her wet face got in the way of her proper speech, but it was understandable enough to let it sink in with the pair.

Rio still kept her arms crossed and her gaze averted with a frown on her face as sweat that dripped at the side of her face from the feeling of being the one solely at fault. Deciding that being stubborn was immature at such a time like this, she kicked in to try and support her spectacled friend by giving the orange-haired sniper a piece of her own mind. With a gulp and a little bit of a nervous tone, she stuttered out "Ri-Rinka…"

The owner of the name turned her head up to look at the blond with an obvious hint of nervousness or fear of what she was going to say to her this time – which the lighter haired girl wished she didn't take notice of for it had her crouch down and appropriately face the not-so-stoic-anymore girl out of guilt-stricken impulse.

"About what I said before…and about all the other things I did…I'm sorry. It was my bad. I'm pretty sure they hurt a lot…" it was a little awkward talking to her like this since all they've ever done was avoid each other the past weeks – and even before that they barely talked and were the last thing you would consider as 'close'. In all honesty, what made such a simple apology more difficult was the fact that she was angry at herself for being so harsh on her. She used to think of her as someone who saw herself high above everyone else; that because she was adult-like and had a knack for getting things done, she'd think of herself as wise and knew what was right – but when she overheard the conversation with Chiba just yesterday, things had somehow cleared up. She was just like the rest of them and was kindhearted – but after being used by people from the story she heard about her on how she got to class E, she assumed that the professional, business-like personality started from there; she locked her heart away and kept it from being handled by just anyone by hiding away how fragile it really was.

Rio sighed, exasperated "I've…been a real jerk to you haven't I…" even with a sincere apology like this one she couldn't bring herself to look at her in the eye – only keeping her eyeballs off to the side uncomfortably as she bit her lip.

"Nakamura…" Even if she couldn't see her face, she was sure from her tone that she'd been touched even if her apology wasn't exactly the best one out there for it just showed how stubborn she also was. But after giving it some thought, she was content with her admissions and looked forward to days of less discomforting situations – and to let the atmosphere light up, the blue-eyed girl raised herself from her crouched position and smirked with the added action of a hair flip as she rested another hand on her waist.

"Well then, to make up for it now since I don't wanna feel guilty, go on! Keep taking it out on us! Shout to the world how much of a douchebag he is!" Rio's eyes glinted with sadism as she even raised a fist to exaggerate.

Rinka's eyebrows scrunched together at her statement– by then the tears only stayed at the side of her eyes and waited for gravity to take its toll on them "B-But…I'm at fault here too…" she said this in a tone that felt like she was asking 'weren't you listening?'

"And so? _He_ was the one that made you throw away such good food and have your money wasted because of saying something so discourteous! To me, that's plenty enough to get mad about! But he took away your job? _Rude~!_" the blond crossed her arms as each word came out in a loud as she badmouthed the boy.

"Nakamura-san…?" Manami had to question the girl's actions with a little difficulty in understanding where she wanted to go with this.

Rio winked at her and grinned "If she doesn't let all this out now, she'll never get the chance to! It's women against the world full of good-for-nothing men after all!"

It seemed the introvert wasn't able to fully grasp her intentions by the tilt of her head and the bewildered blinking of her eyes.

"Chi…" But before the small girl could ask again to a get a clear understanding of what her suddenly so eager friend wanted to attain by trash-talking their dark-haired schoolmate, the pigtailed girl whom had half of her face buried in her tucked knees started to mumble.

"Hm?" the other two hummed simultaneously (Manami's was quizzical while Rio's had anticipation laced on it) as they waited for her to carry on.

"Chiba's an idiot." Rinka's mature personality appeared to have completely been thrown out that time for her tone was quiet but pouty – like a spoiled child that held a grudge over something petty.

Happy with the results, the female trickster's smirk only grew wider as she nodded with full support with her on that matter "Yes he is!"

"He didn't have to say all those things about me even if they were true…I really wanted to punch him for that. They really hurt…"

"If I were you, I would've punched him already!"

"He's an insensitive twat, a stupidhead and he ruins everything…"

"Don't forget jackass!" Rio looked to be having too much fun with this already which had the shy girl with them begin to worry for she knew the reasons for Chiba's side and would hate for him to be ganged up upon even when his actions had deeper meaning to it – she was afraid that this may go too far they may overlook his side and he'll end up being the scapegoat; deciding she wouldn't want to let his actions not be rewarded with good results, she spoke up.

"But…even if that's so…" the two light-haired girls turned to her after being interrupted from the trash-talking only to find her with an expression of distress – similar to how a kind mother would stare at her children when they lose their way and was frightful of them getting caught into a bigger mess.

"Chiba-kun had good intentions." Her voice came out low and with concern, but it had the iron will and yearning for the two snipers to get along again – but whatever unease she had had dissipated when she took notice of the rare, tender smile that complemented the loving glimmer in her glossy eyes.

"I…

Already knew that."

* * *

In the middle of a poorly lit staircase that led to the freshmen area of the Kimii school campus was a pair of students that blocked a certain dark-haired boy's way.

Chiba was just about to get back to class (considering its already started about twenty minutes ago) after he left the three girls to reconcile with one another – however, his path had been stopped by a girl with a dull brown crown and a boy that was probably several inches taller than her with spiky hair that appeared dark blue under the small patch of light they were given by a high window.

They eyed him blankly, but clearly they didn't just skip class and block his way just to say 'hi' – what proved this more was how they both had their arms crossed in a fashion that made it appear that interrogation was coming his way.

"What's this now?" The stoic sniper was the first to speak up after seconds of tentative silence had passed them by. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised to find them there, but obviously they had come to him to discuss a matter he was well too aware of.

"Be honest."Sugino didn't demand, but his tone was firm as he now had a sense of quizzicality to his manner of eyeing him.

"Hm?" this was rather unexpected for Chiba; so it took him a few seconds to try and understand what his friend meant by such a question only to have it answered by the short-haired brunette.

"What was the real reason you did this?" her voice came out nonchalantly, but he couldn't deny that part of it had been mixed in with heedfulness – and from that, Chiba turned his head away from them; so he'd been found out.

Yuzuki's brows furrowed with a mix of question and deep concern "You didn't really do all that just to get her to stop acting that way, did you?"

He left them hanging for a few more seconds – not only because he hesitated and was unsure if telling them will do good for the work he had done, but even he had to recover from the scene he had just come from; and to have this question thrown at him directly after, one could only handle so much before they burn out.

But even if the silence dragged out, Yuzuki and Sugino did not move from their spots and were determined to get him to spill – no, it was not just because they were curious, but they were set on helping the guy out through the problem they seemed to have gotten figured out.

Finally, after much contemplation and arrangement of thoughts, Chiba sighed and displayed them an exhausted smile that held every other emotion he had – the rare sight had the two other students widening their eyes ever so slightly; but they couldn't deny how that smile he just showed them was just a bit heartbreaking to lay eyes upon.

"First, can I sit down and have some juice?"

* * *

They weren't allowed to gather at the clubroom during class hours – but they did so anyway.

Thankfully, their bespectacled friend had been courteous enough to provide her members with a stock of juice she'd taken the time to buy from the convenience store –now, three individual boxes of the different flavors of this fruity drink were atop a square table where the three students settled with their own lax positions.

They had kept a comfortable silence over them from the time they had arrived –well, mostly because a respite such as this was just so refreshing you would be tempted to pay no heed to much of your troubles; especially with the addition of the cozy atmosphere given to them by the sunrays that shined through the window. It felt like the most relaxing summer afternoon hang-out one would come across for the air around them didn't have too high of a temperature even without the ventilation given to them by the only sound in the room caused by a small electric fan that rested on the corner.

Shoes were carelessly taken off as bags were just left to lay by the owner's sides – but at least it didn't create such an unnerving mess for if you compared it to how their room looked most of the time, this had to be close to what you would call 'organized'. Chiba found such a time like this comforting; and he was seldom one who would appreciate such – but since he'd endured a long day, he at least rewarded himself with this mundane yet pleasant time with the tangerine-flavored beverage in his hand that left a sweet and citrus flavor upon his tongue.

"So…?" the girl with the pinkish orbs stepped in to action so they may get what they came her for ease their minds – she didn't want to break such a peaceful moment between the three of them; in fact she wanted to drag it out longer in consideration to shaggy haired boy, but there were things too important to leave on standby.

Chiba took a few more moments of preparation before he could speak – he had to be grateful that the two in front of him had given him time to calm his nerves, but he'd feel bad if he were to prolong it anymore; they deserve answers. "I wasn't exactly lying the first time I told you why; I just didn't tell you everything."

He took their quiet stares as a sign that they were willing to listen to every word he intended to say and will settle for nothing short of the whole truth – but he didn't feel threatened at all, he needed people to relay this to anyway. "…Back in the school excursion, Hayami said something to me." The image of the girl that isolated herself from the population upon a porch near the forest resurfaced in a fashion that felt like an old movie clip – her eyes that wallowed in distraught, the way she spoke the words, they all were still fresh in his memory " _'I want to get along with everyone.'_ Was what she said. And at the time, I had a thought. There's no way she'll ever be able to do that…if she always comes to me to talk about it." It wasn't obvious, but he brooded over his words – but the ones who studied him carefully were able to take notice of this and had just been appalled by the enlightenment that had just washed over them.

"So…you took away the one she could talk with anything about so she could turn to someone else?" Yuzuki loosened the grip on her juice box – eyebrows were raised as she said this in a volume just a little above a whisper. Sugino followed through with his own realization as he as well felt his eyes widen at how the other boy in front of him had thought this through so well.

"You…made yourself the subject of her anger so that she'll have no one else to pour her emotions out to except them…"

Chiba, quite relieved they had caught on quickly so he wouldn't have to explain himself for any longer, sighed and leaned back on his arms and lifted his head to the old ceiling that he had to admit needed some polishing. "Precisely." He let a few moments pass so that this may sink in with them, and so he may ease the bitter pain he felt tugging inside of him once he had put his silent plan to words – he realized it hurt more once you put your hard decisions to words. But to keep loyal to his agreement that he would tell them everything, he carried on "She wants to be friends with them, but she doesn't exactly know how to go about it…but the fact still stands that she cares about them, and wouldn't ask for anything more than to just be seen as a friend in their eyes too."

Fuwa found herself lingering over this statement of his – a bit of nostalgia had formed somewhere in her chest as she felt her expression soften and moved her distant gaze to the empty box of juice she put in front of her _'That sounds familiar…'_ the memory of a notebook, followed by an uneasy girl standing by the door of the very room she was inside of at the moment – the quivering of this girl's mouth each time she spoke as her braided hair was against the orange hue of the sun that one spring day.

"I'm amazed it went by that smoothly…" Sugino commented after he had taken his time to let the words sink in and understand his side of the story fully – Chiba wasted no time in answering back to this with the sharp movement of his head to face him, but he kept the same tone of voice as he spoke.

"Of course it went by smoothly." He paused for a bit to go back to a tranquil pace of thought after moving fast with that one sentence – after he had done so, he reverted to his previous position with a barely audible sigh "I know almost everything about her, so I was ready for the consequences too…"

He wanted to face the two of them when he says his next words –it gave them an impression that his decision was resolute and that he had prepared himself beforehand; that he was well aware of how things may have gone down as he spoke with a clear and solid voice that was nothing below genuine "Even if it ends up that we may never make up again, or if it so happens that she decides to forever exclude me from her life – at the very least, my mind can be at ease because I know she'll have them." he knew all too well how much she cared for them, so him being out of the picture wouldn't be a problem for her once they'd gotten friendly with each other – and the one who realized this wasn't only him, for the duo in the room had exchanged a look as they sympathized with him; and it was like they had the same thoughts as well after they had shared another glance at each other.

_So this is the extent of his care for her…_

To say this fact amazed them was an understatement. So with another silent exchange between the otaku and sporty boy, the latter filled the silence that had formed for a brief moment with a soldier-like voice "Chiba."

The sudden change of tone got the dark-haired sniper looking to their direction blankly, but it felt as if there hovered a question mark in the empty space beside him.

"You've worked hard and you've done well." Sugino kept the same tone as he and his classmate gave him a synchronized nod of reassurance – like how the armies would compliment those notable what with the serious faces they put on.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Chiba didn't seem to take this as well as they'd hoped as he tilted his head at the supposed words of praise.

"Not exactly…" the spiky-haired boy's mock stoic face shifted into a sheepish smile after that "But I guess I can try my best to sympathize." While he spoke, Yuzuki had a feeling his mind had drifted back to the memories he'd shared with the raven-haired darling of Korosensei's class E "Well…when you care about someone…you'd naturally have the desire to put their feelings ahead of yours. Even if it probably means you'll have to be the one to suffer for it…and lose your chances of ever being with them for who knows how long…" he remembered how he felt a little heartbroken to hear that he won't be seeing the girl he'd had a long-time crush on for high school since she chose to attend a prestigious all-girls school – but even if that was so, he still supported her on that decision since she was so ecstatic about it; he ignored whatever disgusting feelings he had and wished her luck on that. The smile she had on that day he found out where she was going could never be erased from his mind, that's why.

No more words were said for yet another brief moment as they all came to relate with him on that.

After an exasperated sigh, Sugino ended it with "Love's really problematic, huh." He imitated Chiba's position facing the ceiling as they both seemed to have found an interest to it while they wallowed in their complex emotions – because of this, he failed to notice how the brunette watched him from the corner of her eye inscrutably as she rested her chin on her palm.

"…Yep."

* * *

"Okay, you have to apologize properly, alright?"

"Okay."

"No tsundere moments or any other excuses, got it?"

"G-Got it…"

The figures of three girls reflected upon the cemented floor of their respective building had their scuffling shoes squeak against the well-polished surface as they made their way to where they knew the others were going to find them. Since there were only two periods worth forty minutes after lunch, they weren't too surprised when they realized they had taken up almost the rest of the day just to fix their little dispute – so by now, they had to estimate that the last period was about to reach its end and saw no harm in heading to the clubroom first. For some reason, none of them minded skipping classes much at all (excluding Okuda); but the reason was most probably because of what they had gone through in middle school. Their academics weren't ever harmed even if they tended to not show up in some classes due to their intense junior days.

"Hayami-san, your nose is still all red." Manami offered a handkerchief for the taller girl to blow her nose on, to which she answered to with a muffled 'thank you' against the cloth before she released.

Rio kept her hands on the orangehead's shoulders for it had been quite the challenge to even get her to stand up from where they were – so they needed someone to give her a push so that she may do what she wanted to do (which had been an annoying issue). "Don't run away, okay?"

"Roger that." Rinka tried responding with her serious tone, but it had gone wrong due to the runny nose and brittle voice.

"Make sure when we get there you're not this much of a mess…"

As the two girls continued, Manami couldn't stop the feeling of overjoy from being too obvious on her face as her smile hadn't wavered since they made up with her. From this, she expects the succeeding days to be much more eventful and memorable now that the three of them had come to an understanding.

But just as she had that thought, something reflected on her glasses that didn't fail to get her attention albeit it only being there for a split second while they passed through the administration lane. Usually she'd overlook such things – but since it was color red…

She took a few steps backward to confirm her suspicions and check if she had seen what she thought she saw. To her slight surprise, her guess was correct. The boy she had not seen all day had his back against the wall under a window in a crouched position. Upon further inspection, it appeared that he had been eavesdropping on something due to the evasive glances he directed towards the window of what looked to be the headmaster's office.

_'What's he doing there?'_ curiosity got the best of her as she quietly walked over to him. It wouldn't really surprise her if she caught him doing something else even with the fact that classes weren't over yet, but to see him with a serious expression as he would observe whatever happenings there were in the room, something told her it wasn't something to be so negligent about.

"Karma-ku—" she hadn't even finished whispering his name for he had pulled her down by the wrist to have her back to his chest and between his legs as he gently put a hand over her mouth with a quiet 'Sh.'

Manami's eyes grew wide at this straightforward gesture, but she kept her mouth shut for this seemed to be something taken seriously and it would be bad for both of them if they get caught out here; an off-limits area for students – that, and another reason was because she found herself to stunned to move from their proximity. On the other hand, Karma felt a slight discomfort with having her there and couldn't stop himself from expressing this by stifling a rather irked hum and moving his eyes to the side for a second. But once he chose to just suck it up for a while and ignore it, his focus returned to the not very pleasant scene inside the office that could be seen through the gap between the curtains.

Not too long after, he released the girl in his hold and let her have a glimpse of this too as they knelt next to each other to continue spying.

From what was visible with the tiny space provided with the curtain, she was able to catch a view of two women with a notable height difference bow their upper bodies to what looked to be two teachers and of course, the authority who attended to his work in that very room. Manami had seen those two teachers before – they were the homeroom advisors of class 1-B and 1-F.; and from the looks of it, they were not pleased at all for it appeared that the pair was issuing a complaint to the dark haired man that sat behind the table with an expression of displeasure. Her eyes moved back to the two bowing characters and she felt her brows scrunch together in concern once she had deciphered who they were. It wasn't too hard – pale brown hair with a green bow and long, bright orange, curly hair that extravagantly went well with the white lab coat – there were only two people who harbored such, and of course it had to be their council supporter Isura Mai and their supervising teacher Mikagura Midori-sensei.

She couldn't tell what kind of face they made for both had long hair that blocked her from reading them – but clearly, they weren't feeling anything short of unpleasant; she could tell that much. After a while of barely being able to comprehend what a disgruntled group of voices were trying to say to each other – purple eyes grew wide under a pair of glasses once the owner of which had caught on with the events.

And it had to be that same time for the headmaster to eye their location suspiciously and stood up.

In no time at all, footsteps were beginning to reach their ears as each grew louder and without a second wasted.

Thinking fast, Karma pulled the braided girl with him by the wrist as they kept their steps quiet but fast in the process of their escape. Manami followed through by keeping her head down and did not retort when he silently insisted her to go first.

Fortunately, by the time the door opened, they were safely hidden behind the nearest wall where the hallway was.

The school authority moved his head to the opposite side of where they were with narrow and apprehensive (not to mention intimidating) eyes. At that same time, curiosity took over the hidden duo for they had peeked their heads out of the wall steadily to have a see what he was doing.

When the frightening man felt their stares, no time was wasted before he snapped his head over to their side – to which they had barely been able to dodge from.

A few more anxious moments passed them by for not a sound had been made since they were almost doomed to join their older members in that same office.

But to their utmost relief, the shut of the door resonated through that ever-quiet lane. But the relief had only been short-lived for there were bigger things to worry about now. After they exchanged a nod, they departed from the area with haste.

* * *

"Oi…Chiba…are you really okay? You've been staring into the empty refrigerator for a while…" Sugino sweatdropped when he faced the boy whom had his head inside of the said appliance – surely it was not just because of the heat.

Yuzuki stared at him with raised eyebrows as she contemplated upon this with a palm to her cheek. Just earlier he was spouting out some really cool lines that were worthy enough to become anime with a strong-hearted will and a vow to himself that he would stay strong for his girlfriend but not's sake – but now that image she had of him had vanished into thin air as he only kept himself there and sulked; apparently Chiba is forlorn despite saying he was 'prepared for the consequences'. Seeing this as a familiar scene from some of her reading materials, she prodded her classmate whom sat next to her with a finger.

"Sugino-kun…go have an inspiring bro to bro talk with him."

"Excuse me?"

Then from outside, a shuffling was heard which stopped the three members of the room from whatever they were doing to look over to their door (yes, even the one who fretted inside a cold appliance).

Muffled voices that belonged to a familiar pair of girls sounded from directly outside of the door.

"…As I thought, I can't go in."

"Stop chickening around and do it!"

"But—"

"GET IN!"

Rio slid the door open forcefully and pushed the (now cleaned up) pigtailed girl into the room which caused her to stumble a bit as the blond followed after her with a vein popped on her forehead from the female sniper's incessant excuses even after they agreed on doing this thing properly.

Seeing both of them surprised Chiba for a bit since he had not exactly predicted what would happen next – but the same could not be said for the class F members that were left unfazed by their appearance. Almost immediately after Rinka was pushed in, the center of her emotional turmoil was the first to meet her eyes.

For a while, the room was brought to a mute between their stare-fest – well, at least for Chiba since Rinka was the only one that glowered down at him with crossed arms. Seeing as this was something they were best not part of, Rio proceeded to pull Yuzuki and Sugino out of the room as the former tilted her head with a smile of inquiry "What's up?"

The blond groaned inwardly and brought them outside "Don't even bother…" with that last remark, she shut the door to leave the stoic couple alone to deal with each other – but even after they had departed from the room, the only thing the both of them did was continue to stare at each other, unmoving. Neither was exactly in the best mood, and the awkward air between them was still present so it was hard to even start speaking; not even the sound of the small electric fan was heard for it felt as if the entire world had been blocked out to them as they only had their minds and all other senses set on the one in front of them.

**_'I hate him!'_**

"…Are you happy now?" Chiba was the first to break their stare and intense silence by lowering his head and speaking with a low yet dismayed tone which had Rinka taken aback. She had thought that he would go back to ridiculing her or do something to annoy her and disrespect her existence again – but now that she was presented with this, she felt guilty for even taking that possibility into account. This question meant so much more than what meets the eye – and she knew exactly what they desired to ask her, and it took another long while before she could reply with a nod of her head "….Mm." the glower had now faded away and was replaced with half-lidded emerald orbs which held her feelings that the boy in front of her refused to face.

Chiba felt his fist clench upon his pants after her blunt response. So his plan worked – that didn't really mean he was happy about it, but he knew it would come. So with a breath, he raised his head and was prepared to end it with them "Haya—"

"You're horrible." She had her head moved to the side with her arms crossed in a snobbish fashion after the insult – to which he reacted to with the slight drop of his jaw followed by a tiny hum.

_'I expected this…'_

"…at hiding your true intentions."

_'I did not expect this'_ "Wait, so—" before he could address his questions to her, she raised a hand as if to tell him to just shut up for a while and leave the talking to her for this explanation. "I knew from the moment I threw that book at you. You knew I missed on purpose but you still made it look like I tried just so you could annoy me…" she turned her gaze to him with a sense of superiority "That was enough of a sign for me to know that you had something up your sleeve."

He had been left at a tongue-tie by her words – how can he not be? She just straight up told him that she knew about his little plan which ruined the impression he had that he knew everything about her. This did not bring him to distraught however, for somehow he was relieved to know that there were still things about her he was yet to familiarize himself with; and he looked forward to discovering them if she allowed it. But for now, despite his surprise of her being able to figure him out as well as he could, he answered back with "…it still worked though."

Rinka narrowed her eyes at him once this had reached her ears, but she did not say anything even with another prideful remark coming from him.

Chiba turned to the side "So, You came here for?"

"You're an insensitive twat."

_'Okay…'_ well, that was straightforward as heck – but he just let her go on without moving a muscle. He was fine with her throwing insults at him since she had done so lots of times even before they came to this situation – so he'd be used to it by now.

"Stupidhead, lousy, jackass, and most of all downright terrible."

_'Okay some of that hurt…'_ forget all that talk on being used to it – it felt like several arrows labeled with these words just shot through his heart as the insults left her mouth.

The orange-head heaved a sigh and relaxed her shoulders as she faced him with a demure expression "But the only one that knows exactly how to make me happy in his own way" she observed how he sharply turned back to her with his mouth agape and found it quite amusing to see that kind of confused and semi-bashful face of his before she proceeded with finishing this talk up now that she was able to release things from her heavily burdened chest.

"I'll never be able to find anyone to replace you. So get that stupid worry out of your head." She was monotonous and commanding in tone, but with the genuine glisten in her eyes when she looked at him, not only had Chiba remained dumbfounded because he was mesmerized, but it was also because she knew about his thoughts and fears of being replaced by someone else in her life. And to have them eased right then and there with the sight he gave her and the way she said it, he nearly felt himself tear up under his dark locks from this happiness he found just after a nerve-wracking and just plain painful day.

"…Then—"

"Jackasses can't talk unless I tell them it's okay." She quickly cut him off and turned her head away to hide the red tint on her face after saying something quite embarrassing; she apologized to Nakamura at the back of her mind for not keeping her no-tsundere-moment promise.

Chiba's mind had reached complete contentment when she presented him with that action – to say he was relieved to see her back to her normal self was an understatement in every way possible. After all the hardship, after all the endured emotions and after being thrown into pits of uncertainty that felt inescapable, it was absolutely delightful to see them this way again as he gave her a cheeky smile at that very tsundere move "Really?"

Rinka's shoulders jerked upward along with a surprised sound escaping her closed lips when he said this with that tone he always made whenever she was being obvious as the heat in her cheeks only added up "A-Anyway…" she paused for a bit and pushed her egotistical behavior down so she could gaze at him – emerald eyes brimmed with resolve and were nothing short of genuine and caring "Next time…I'll be the one to make you happy."

Chiba's smile faded away as he put those words into mind and analyzed them seriously before he replied reflectively "…I'll admit…that I asked Tori-sensei to take you off position so I could spend summer with you…" he treated the silence and blank expression she had on as a sign that she accepted that reason even if it were something selfish before he said the next batch of words nonchalantly, but with a depth of meaning to them

"…don't force yourself."

Rinka couldn't stop the warm and tender smile that crept up to her features as her gaze simply gave out the message of how thankful she is for this person to be in her life.

* * *

"Looks like it went well."

The three who stepped outside to leave them alone hadn't really left the area and just sat on the floor to eavesdrop on them like the nosy clubmates they were –though the only boy among the group was against it due to privacy matters, in the end he couldn't stop the girls from getting their scoop of this lover's (but not) feud and could only heave a sigh.

"That's a relief. I almost thought they'd never come to." He suddenly felt the exhaustion take over after the relief and slumped to the wall next to their door.

Yuzuki grinned brightly and hummed a tune – overjoyed that things had cleared up and were settled down "Isn't that great, Rio-chan?" when the directed her attention to the blond, a sly smile graced her expression when she saw how the blond had a pout on and crossed arms with her head turned to the side petulantly.

"Riiiiooooo~" the otaku teased and even poked on her arm tauntingly to get an amusing child-like reaction from her

"…I misunderstood her…" she kept the pout on but towards herself out of regret and a little bit of self-loathing for being so immature towards the stoic ginger before this day. After taking a glance at the club window to see how the both of them were now smiling at each other, the pout dissipated and turned into one the mangaka wannabe couldn't quite read, but it was clear enough when she said "My opinion's changed."

_'So in the end it worked out…'_ Yuzuki had on a cheerful grin as she kicked her feet up and down happily while humming a blissful tune – but that was until she had a thought.

Wait…it was times like these when the end seemed too good to be true.

"Where were you two when we had this dating-but-not couple brouhaha?" Rio's mocking voice had brought her out of her thoughts as she turned to where the two newcomers had come from – but in contrast with the pleasing scene that just ended in the room whose door they had their backs leaned on, the two who had just arrived didn't exactly look to be in the mood for jokes right now and brought a serious vibe with them that eventually got the other three getting sucked into as they awaited with a growing anxiety of what appeared to be something problematic all over again.

Manami's purple orbs were troubled under her glossless spectacles and bit her lip while Karma had a sarcastic yet somehow annoyed smirk on his face as he kept his hands in his pockets.

"We've got a pain in the neck to deal with"

* * *

**YUSH! How's about that? 8"3**

**I apologize for some of those writer's block moments and f things weren't portrayed well in the narrations 8"D**

**ALSO! IF ANYONE'S OOC TELL ME! And of course I'm guilty about the big lack of Karmanami in this chapter 8"D**

**Okay before I get straight to the preview: Do we have Yuzuki supporters? Owo I'm just curious because of this love triangle I put so hey like some generic showbiz shit do we have supporters on her end? I'm not saying I'm for her but hey curiosity~**

**NOW! NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW: If I Were To Tell You...**

**SUMMER BREAK IS FINALLY HERE! A great time to relax and enjoy the sun - but not for our small group of previous 3-E members because their club's in a tight situation! Because of their careless skipping of class and not-so-good conduct, they've been getting complaints from the teachers and might get disbanded! That's not the only problem! Trains and their complications, working with one-sided love, blackmail and punishment games, Inari getting found out more than twice, and a weird girl named Watanabe Meiko? And why does Manami seem to know her? So many things are getting boggled up within this group of former assassins as things heat up with the weather! **

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! They are a reassurance for me and keep me motivated to make the next chapter! JA NE~! AND I LOVE YOU AND THANKS FOR READING!**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	12. Chapter 12

**YUSH~! Thank you all for your patience because I'll warn you now that this chapter is short OwO**

**But before all that, YOU LOVELY PEOPLE THANKS FOR READING!**

**Gosh darn it this chapter makes me feel like there's lots of OOC in it. SO when you find some, Tell me please ^w^**

**And I'll admit now I had a writer's block at the beginning of the chapter because I lacked motivation when I did it so I apologize for that uwu**

**Now before I go to bed at this late hour (Good morning 4 amers~), Let's answer those reviews!:**

**Title Unwanted: Thanks for the review! Hope you like this one!**

**Ace Clover: Oh long review I like long review thank you very very much! Yep~ I was really just neutral with Chibahaya to be honest but gosh darn thank the pizza I ate that day for that idea XD And it touches me to know that I was able to create a tear-jerking scene 8"")) Yes, Rinka is now one of the cutest characters suddenly...And Chiba is AH XD (#RelationshipGoals) okay no that was a joke but okay hah XD It's complicated because...it's complicated 8") Oh and read the entire arc to find out~! I look forward to more of you~! And your grammar is understandable enough! ^w^)b**

**TheRoseShadow21: HELLO AGAIN! One cannot measure the amount of OTP's one can have so rest easy my fellow fangirl. Thanks again for a review! Really appreciate how you take your time to review every chapter since you'd started reading. About that well, you'll prolly have to read to get to that point haha I know Im evil sorry XD And hope you enjoy this!**

**bluemoonbutterfly: Let me just take this time to hug you please? *GLOMPS* Thanks for that long review! It made me very happy and thank you for the compliments too! I'm glad you find entertainment when reading this and how you detail HOW you enjoy it lol XD And you don't have to apologize for that! It's totally fine~ Though they motivate me to write more, it still depends on each person~! And yes I will look forward to you! Hope you enjoy this next one!**

**I12Bfree: Thanks man! And yay~ OTP! Love triangles hm? Overused but I'll try my best to make it unique ^w^ And if I spoil it'll ruin~ O3O)~**

**spiritofgold: AW I WUV YOU. That made me feel hyper sorry XD Thanks for that awesome review man! I love how you point out what it is you liked about the chapters and your own personal opinion so I really appreciate that. And YAY~ Yuzuki-chan has a team! And I've already something planned for her. ;D**

**Sweetmoegirl: HELLO AGAIN~! Thanks for that review! And especially thanks for pointing out your opinions and favorite parts! They really motivate me to make some more~! And I'm not sure about the karmanami in this chapter since it's basically the prologue of a VERY Karmanami arc XD (Psst! I enjoyed letting RIo and Hayami trash talked him too!) YES YUZUKI-CHAN HAS TWO NOW! Hope you like this one!**

**natsuki DDS: Thanks bro! I'll be sure to fix them later on! Really? Owo Thanks!**

**Akikarui: Aw really? That means a lot thank you very much! Ahaha lol that was my favorite out of all the insults XDD (Wait you're british? Owo) YAY YUZUKI-CHAN THAT'S 3!**

**kawaiichoconeko: HAI NEKO-CHAN~ I'm glad I was able to make Hayami relate to you at some aspects! You're beautiful too for that review and just for being awesome! Thanks for the compliments! (Still LOVING ABC! CANT WAIT FOR MORE! Oh and do you take requests? Owo?) **

**Demonyo Bro: I'll only answer you once here kasi hindi kita sinagot sa FB XD Thanks beh~ labyu**

**Akabane-san: HEY THERE AGAIN! Thanks bro you're awesome too! YES ONE DAY! WE WILL PREACH! **

**Kuro: Thanks man!**

**Quilla The Silent: HEYO~ (OH nice profile pic I approve VERY much) Thanks for the review as always! AND LOL I haven't watched Ouran but I just found it funny XD Hope you enjoy this albeit it being a prologue lacking of many things!**

**By the way, for you Yuzuki supporters, I have already thought up an ending for her. Oh you wanna know what it is? READ ON HAHA-*shot***

**OKay enough sadism. Let's get on with this prologue! (Seriously. It's only ONE scene the entire chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: Classroom of assassination, I own not.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: If I Were To Tell You…(PROLOGUE) [SUMMER BREAK]**

School's finally out for the next three months.

As the sun began to reach a certain temperature point that would have you begging for even an ounce of cool air, the streets had become busier what with the added youth population. The winds of summer rustled the leaves of the now green trees where birds were discovered to have migrated. Albeit it being quite the hectic season for those employed, it did not take away the other peaceful components of the season – examples of which were the everyday walks in the park of folk with desire to simply bask in awe of the scenery given to them by nature's wonders either with their relatives, friends or even pets. Young boys would be found in the fields or courts practicing whichever sport they deem enjoyable while young girls now filled the fashion malls at a fast rate – summer homework barely became the serious topic of discussion for these young members of society.

At this time of year, it wouldn't be surprising to see children wandering about with casual clothes as they bathed under the bright, hot sun with friends or family. Most would make the most of these three months by going out of town to see the world or relax at home after a tiring three months of school before they find themselves back with even more load on their backs – naturally they'd cherish such a time.

Except for a certain group of students that found themselves unable to find as much delight as most even with the break's beginning.

"So…no one's got a better idea?" All the golden haired girl gained from her companions were a few clueless stares and the shrugging of shoulders.

The six of them had sat themselves comfortably in their individual spaces inside a guest room. The walls were painted with a pale, pink-ish color that would remind one of bubblegum as the floor had been carpeted with a soft, walnut-colored fabric that was so pleasant to the touch it could not stop some of them from lying on it with blithe albeit it not being their own. Furniture within this rather spacious room included a bed that could fit two at most covered by a neat, blue cover topped with white, fluffy pillows. By the other corners of the room you would find wooden drawers and about four shelves which contained a few materials that were probably stored for the time being as well as other necessities – but most of all, manga.

Since the area was just at the ground floor, ventilation had been provided by a ceiling fan with a lamp attached to it – the latter had not been needed however as they were already given enough light by the afternoon sun that threatened to shower its heat on them even with the lowered blinds; but thankfully this room was air-conditioned.

Nakamura Rio sat with her legs crossed upon a rolling chair placed right in front of the study desk just by the window looking quite unenthusiastic. She had on denim shorts and a fuchsia sweater with its sleeves rolled up to adjust to the heat – her blond hair was at its usual laid back style while she frowned at the awkward silence she had been given by her clubmates "We're not seriously going to open a gift shop, are we?"

"That was a joke on my part, but now you're making it tempting." By one of the shelves was a dark-haired, stoic boy whom rested his back on the furniture with crossed arms. Chiba had a short-sleeved navy-green jacket that was given design by the several pockets inside-out and a white t-shirt that went with the simple brown, long shorts that gave him a casual, scout-like look.

"That won't do at all…" Sugino sweatdropped from his Indian sitting position right beside the single bed – his blue shirt had been hidden by the baseball varsity jacket while he had gray long shorts to serve as the bottom. Sitting on the furniture beside him was a disgruntled short-haired girl whom had a plain, sunflower-colored T-shirt that had the black, hiragana print that said 'otaku' with regular brown shorts.

"Why are we at my house again?" she said this with narrowed eyes and quite the discontented frown – to which was bluntly answered by an orange-haired girl whom always styled her hair with pigtails wearing a white blouse as she is also probably the only girl in the room that chose to wear leggings. "You lost old maid."

Yuzuki was about to say something but was abrupt by the arrival of the rest of the ones who agreed to meet at her humble domain. The white door had been opened by Karma as Manami followed suit – the former's getup was just a simple, unbuttoned, short-sleeved polo which he put over a plain red shirt with black jeans as the bottom whilst the latter had put on a basic spearmint-toned tank patterned with butterflies around the hem with loose jeans that only reached up to about six inches below her knees as she had her shoulder bag's strap across her chest and by the side of her hip. The two of them had agreed to meet with their Council support member – whom not too long after came in with them wearing a thin, blue, long-sleeved blouse and a checkered skirt added with white high knee socks – for the important discussion the two of them had also arranged for the day since they've found out about the problem they've got caught into.

Isura Mai, despite having a bubbly and energetic personality, came in with a troubled expression as they entered and settled themselves down. "Sorry we had to make you wait."

"No, no senpai – you came at a good time." Rio assured her with a tiny smile and the wave of her hand that represented her dismissal of such since they weren't exactly doing anything productive for the past few minutes since they'd left – all they did was turn down a few suggestions for their issue.

"So I'm sure you're all aware of what happened by now." The girl who kept her pale brown hair tied back by a white ribbon this time started with a somehow professional tone even with the obvious distraught that came with it.

This gained her a few groans – specifically from the English veteran who slumped herself down on the chair and crossed her arms as her brows scrunched up to show how irked she was by the matter. "Yeah. I still find it annoying how they suddenly decided to stick their nose into our business. Sure we tend to skip classes and other important appointments when we work but our grades aren't even falling; and we submit our progress reports anyway so I don't really see a problem."

Karma leaned back with support from his arms at his position to the blond girl's left with a lazed expression "They can't exactly get rid of the club because of that, so that's one thing we have nothing to worry about. But from what I heard, if we go on with the usual they'll most likely be given a reason to really put us out of business." He worded this out in such a tone that clearly brought out the message that he found such a matter just downright bothersome.

"How so?" Rinka joined in – her voice monotonous and business-like as she addressed this seriously.

"It'll give the school a bad name. We may have our requirements without a problem and aren't affected academically, but Kimii also has this knack for presentation because it's a literate academy – with a plain room like ours, we make it look like we aren't even taking our activities seriously since it doesn't look like we're making an effort to do so; therefore, we aren't given an excuse to skip class. They would've gone about our penalties individually, but after they found out we were all in the same club it's become a scapegoat." The redheaded prankster had to hold back a yawn after his long explanation, but in contrast to how he made it seem, this was also something he'd considered troublesome for himself – after what he did to put it together, it would be upsetting to have it gotten rid of for such reasons he considered to be quite trifling. And there was another reason…

"And with that being said…" Mai decided to give them some additional explanation and had the room's attention fixed on her as she spoke "If you give the school a bad name, you'll be forced out of school events because of club prioritizing. So basically, if you don't show any contribution to the school's reputation, the least they could do is disband you." She frowned at her words and grabbed the edge of her skirt from her seiza style sitting position.

Chiba contemplated on his senior's words for a bit "So all we have to do is make it look like we're exerting serious effort that can excuse us from our bad conduct?"

"More or less. But you have to really prove it." She spoke with a little reluctance as the memory of the fit of anger the teachers had been brought to when she was called to the office that day resurfaced – it wasn't exactly a nice feeling to be yelled at without being given the chance to speak your mind, but it couldn't be helped; she had to take responsibility. Manami, whom took notice of how she brooded on her words, felt a pang of guilt stab something inside her chest; she had witnessed the scene herself and felt horrible for having this girl share the burden of their actions.

"Well, how about we start with decorating the room a little bit?" Sugino suggested with a shrug, quite unsure as he felt himself become the target of their stares. But he had been assured once Rio placed a finger on her chin as she pondered on it "Simple, but not a bad idea."

This statement had the rest of the members come to an agreement as they exchanged a few nods after much thought and since it was probably about the most decent suggestion they'd heard the entire day.

"How do you think we should decorate it?" Manami chose to become a part of the discussion then after feeling a little bad for not having any contribution – but she'd be lying if she said she was not curious as to what they had in mind with that suggestion as she gave the sporty boy a quizzical look.

"Hmm…er…We can probably buy some things that'll make it a little more presentable instead of just an old wooden room." The spiky haired boy wasn't exactly prepared with a proposal on what to make do with his recommendation, as a result he only took what was at the top of his head.

That was when Rinka intervened "That may be out of the question. We're also in a financial bind." At this, Sugino sighed after he was reminded of that fact – they used it all on the convenience store they once trashed after all. They could always count on their female sniper to take note of these important things.

Mai's eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of decorating "How about original room design, like a logo for instance?" Mai had a smile back on her face this time for she had found something she was certain would save their club one way or another thanks to her baseball playing junior – this earned her the interest of the art-lover in the group, Yuzuki "Logo?"

"Mm. Most clubs have a mascot to symbolize their club's character. For instance, the painting club has a portrait of a black and white warrior carrying a colored sword placed on their door – 'art is the bone of every man's sword'. Notwithstanding the other designs of their room, the alumnae had come up with that idea first; that was how the club has had a good reputation since then. But you don't necessarily have to be as deep." She paused for a bit just to display her juniors with a bright beam "You can just come up with something that can capture your identity."

Almost everyone had been brought into their thoughts after those set of sentences. Rio, after analyzing it, nodded in consideration for the idea. "Well, it should certainly use up less money."

"Looks like the best option so far." Sugino followed with a grin of agreement delivered to the vice president accompanied with a thumbs-up.

Karma had a satisfied smile on once they'd gotten that out of the way – he had to admit it wasn't a bad idea and that it should be easy for them anyway. His stare shifted to the brunette that sat herself on her bed with bright purple eyes and let his smile change into a sly grin "Alright then. Fuwa-san will work on it starting today."

Yuzuki sharply turned to him with a stare that questioned if he was serious _'Did he just dump that on me?'_

"Hold on—"

"Hm?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow as his hands were rested at the back of his head cheekily – and she had a twisted feeling in her gut that he was up to something again.

"Oh yeah! Yuzuki-chan you're good at drawing!" Rio exclaimed from her seat and pointed a finger at her as her face stretched into a grin; upon hearing this, the mangaka wannabe couldn't stop the small stir in her stomach that brought an irked smile to her face as she thought _'What do you mean by 'oh yeah'?'_ – this contradicted with her current mindset though as she had just made it look like she wasn't so into the idea of having her do all the work.

"Really? That makes things better!" Mai encouraged with a wink and a thumbs-up as everyone else in the room seemed to had given her their own pairs of hopeful gazes towards her. Yuzuki felt her mouth twitch upwards to a somewhat peeved grin once she grasped what it is her redheaded friend had just gotten her sucked into.

_'That sneaky clown knows how to force work on someone… I can't refuse if they stare at me like that…'_

But even if this was so, she didn't retort to their wishes since he had a point; she liked to consider herself as the only one with a creative sensibility and an innovative artist's perspective in their circle of friends – she can't trust anyone else with the job either way since she knows that if it were someone else, she'd end up criticizing it if it didn't reach her standards.

She was just about to decide that it wasn't so bad and agree until her ever-mischievous blond-haired friend chose that time to add something "Sugino-kun can draw too right? Why don't you help her out?" she said this with her normal innocent-like tone, but Yuzuki knew better – underneath that enthusiastic grin she was sure she saw an evil aura and demonic smirk as devil ears grew on her head along with the cheeky wag of the arrowhead tail that just plain gave out the message that she was gonna enjoy torturing her.

_'Goddamn it Rio…'_ the otaku cursed at her inwardly as she absentmindedly put on a plagued expression in fear of him agreeing and leaving her to be the object of ridicule for the blond – not to mention to have to deal with the discomforts of working together when in a 'one-sided feelings' dilemma.

Her agony only increased when the aforementioned boy spoke up after he relaxed his stretched arms from being called so suddenly "Hm? Well, I'm okay with it. I'm sure it'll get the work done faster and still keep quality."

Outside, the brunette kept herself unfazed by this – the inside was the complete opposite however for she could see herself sink down into a dark, swirling abyss as if all life swept away from her body and left her as an all-white soulless corpse _'GODDAMN IT RIO.'_

"Is that okay, Fuwa-san?" Sugino's voice brought her out of her nightmarish trance before she turned her head to the left where she found him grinning in request for permission. Normally, one would be happy to receive help for a job that's been forced upon you, but Yuzuki took this situation differently for she had just been forced into working alone with the reason for her stressful emotions by her sadistic friend whom she very much wished to kick out of her house at the moment – she was only prevented from doing so by the eager stares given to her by her former classmates and especially the only other brunette in the room; it would break her heart to crush her senior's hopes after she had just gone through a yelling session from authorities because of _their_ actions, but if she were to submit to that hopeful glimmer she saw in her eyes, that would mean she'd have to endure nerve-wracking moments for who knows how long this summer.

Without much fretfulness over it, she decides to do the right thing and suck it up for the sake of everyone in this room – indeed they'd be able to have a high quality poster and/or design planned out in a nick of time if she had a bit of assistance on her side. So, in her misery, she sighed and managed to say-

"…Sure…" albeit just having resolved her decisions, she did not control how this had unintentionally come out ominously – and with that she had also failed to notice how her pinkish orbs shot themselves into his in a malicious glare as she forced a grin that apparently turned out to give the impression that she was out to get him.

Feeling threatened, Sugino inched away a little as he had begun to feel himself sweat out of nervousness "Why do I have the feeling you want to shove me into a garbage chute…?" he said with an uneasy voice as there looked to be blue lines travelling down the side of his head.

To the other corner of the room, a small-framed girl had her brows furrowed out of concern "Fuwa-san's going through a rough time, huh…" Manami muttered before she frowned, aware of her friend's situation. She doubts she'd understand whatever feelings her dull brown-crowned clubmate had at such a situation, but judging from how she took it in and the negative aura she could feel despite having a fair distance away from them, the bespectacled girl was quite certain it was quite the torment.

In contrast with this, the mischievous boy behind her only had an amused smile on and sat back in a carefree manner as they watched the pitiful (for Yuzuki) scene. "I find it funny."

Before she could shoot him a pout that would tell him 'that's not nice', the loud exclamation of 'oh!' that undoubtedly came from their senior had her turn her focus to what the older girl wished to relay to them – the same had gone for all else as they observed how her bright blue eyes glistened in eureka while she raised a finger "Cultural Festival!"

Mai accepted their quizzical stares as an indication that they were willing to listen to whatever concerned this major school event "The Kimii annual school fiesta should be your best chance at showing the school what you've got!" she exclaimed in a fashion that made her similar to a game show announcer (the adorable version) as she rose from her seated position to have a leader-like pose as she made gestures to sync with her words "If you can come up with a great attraction that'll ensure great feedback, not only will the school deem you as a significant part of our reputation, but with the added attention of our student body and even outsiders, I can assure you that you can kiss your club issues goodbye!" her blue eyes were feisty as if she was already looking forward to the day they're able to pull it off.

Not a second later, she found them exchanging determined expressions and smirks that gave her the impression that they were already collectively agreeing with each other – as if they knew, with all their hearts, that when it came to this kind of thing – when it came to proving themselves, they were a powerful team that won't even _consider_ defeat as a possibility.

"Sounds great!"

"Senpai! Thanks so much! Your great thinking saved us again!"

Compliments like these had the older girl beam warmly at them as if saying 'glad I was able to help' as it was followed by a sheepish giggle before she sat back down – very much pleased that she had been able to contribute to this brainstorming session. It was always nice to be of help to others for her, even if she was aware she wasn't exactly the leader type – which was why she lost to Kobayashi Tsumugu during last year's elections. But humble as she was, she kept no such grudge against that fact and was merely happy to be of service – and such components of her personality had caused the braided introvert inside the same room to stare at her with awe and an open smile of admiration.

Karma, having noticed this gesture of hers, found such a face pleasant and found himself also smiling. She'd hinted how she somehow looked up to this person not too long ago by addressing her as cute; and it was a rare occasion when he'd find her make such a face out of veneration for a person. Pleased with what had just unfolded, he interjected the mini-merry-fest happening in Fuwa Yuzuki's guest room.

"Well then, that settles it. Now that we got things cleared up, we should present our individual proposals by the near end of the break if you have any. If you have something in mind, then don't be afraid of speaking out loud." Manami blinked – for some reason why did she feel like that last statement was directed at her, but her slight daze had been abrupt by the scoff of her golden-crowned friend

"Oh? Karma-kun's actually acting like president for once."

Right then, the two tricksters of the group had broken into another sarcastic word exchange – but this didn't produce any harm for they had just had a blissful meeting; and they had to admit that too since it had gone quite well, and now they had things planned out for the solution to their problem.

"Oh! I forgot!" Mai had suddenly interrupted before she stood from her spot and headed to the door to excuse herself "I left Omo-chan outside for a while, but by now I think it's getting too hot so I'll be gone for a while to look for him." She saluted with a soldier-like expression before beaming again "Bye for now~!" and with that she was gone with the not too loud shut of the door – the action was too sudden for anyone to react to, but in the end, having been used to some of the unexpected actions of this peculiar girl, they had shrugged it off.

Except for one fact…

_'She brought that thing with her even here…'_

Not long after they were back to having some regular chitchat for the time being before addressing the other important matters to their plan, a vibration had emitted from one of the pockets of a light blue shoulder-bag that appeared to be owned by the most petite one of the members of the room. Manami tilted her head – it was rare for her to be getting phone calls; but setting aside that fact, she shuffled her had inside to search for the handy piece of metal whilst the rest of them still had themselves engaged in their mundane conversations.

It wasn't surprising to find out who the caller was – if it were someone else, then that was when she'd feel a little bewildered. But since the name belonged to an all-too-familiar middle-aged woman whom she shared a roof with for eleven years, she needn't waste time wondering the reason for the call for it had usually been something important if it was Inari.

"Ah, excuse me while I take this please…" she was given a few nods of reassurance from her clubmates which brought a smile to her face before she walked out of the room in a bit of a haste so as to not keep the caller waiting too long.

She didn't stray too far away from the door before she pushed the button and began the conversation.

"Hello—" a sudden noise that appeared to be the sound of a hectic crowd had come from the other side which had forced Manami to distance the phone from her ear on impulse – but she didn't take any more than a moment to carefully return the speaker by her ear and listen to her caretaker's voice.

"Manami, are you doing anything right now?" Inari's tone sounded busy from a tight schedule of some sorts – and upon further inspection, she seemed to be in high demand for she could hear her last name being called out by what sounded like a clutter of people either angrily, with sobs or some other negative emotion for nothing positive about it could be mentioned at the time.

She thought about it for a second before answering "Well…kind of."

The maroon-haired woman sighed from a little stress the younger girl's words washed over her, but kept her tone polite enough "Well, I'm kind of in a tight situation right now. Do you remember that old store we went to at Hashimoto?"

"Hashimoto?" she placed a finger to her mouth in a gesture as the memory of a small shop just by an old street resurfaced "I think I do. Why?"

"I—" Manami wasn't sure what interrupted her, but it sounded like what one would think to be an ear-splitting gurgling noise of what seemed to be some large bulky man before she groaned and carried on – this time with a faster wording "There's something there I need you to pick up – just look for the old guy named Arata Miho and he'll give it to you."

"Arata Miho." She confirmed with her with a nod.

"Good. But one more thing." things had become quiet on her end – so she assumed she had found a peaceful place to resume their conversation.

"Hm?"

"No matter what it may be, don't open it." Her tone was slower now, in a way of emphasizing that her instruction should be dealt with seriously – which was a tad bit bemusing for the lavender-orbed girl as she replied with curiosity "Why?"

"Why…?" the chem maniac could almost feel how her guardian's eyes narrowed with suspicion at her nosy inquiry "You never had to ask why before…"

"Ah…er…it's just…" she trailed off – why was she curious? She'd never questioned her obligations before, she'd always submitted to them obediently and did what was told without fail when it came to the woman on the phone – lately, the short-haired nurse had noticed how she had become quite inquisitive. But she had some kind of hunch that the possibility for such was a result of her daily hang-out with not exactly the best role models of society…

Inari heaved an exhausted sigh "It's okay, but you have to do your best not to open it." From the sound of her voice, the short girl assumed she forced a smile to have a bit of gentleness lace her tone "It's privacy stuff, kay? You can respect that right?"

Manami returned the smile eagerly and sing-songed a 'Mm'. She was about to hang up, but luckily another significant thought came "But how do I get there?"

Before the woman could respond, another loud thud and a number of incomprehensible yells came from not too far away judging from what she could hear followed by a bit back curse from her "Just take the train!"

"Train?"

"Yes! It should be easy! Just make sure you follow it righ— YOU LET GO OF THAT RIGHT NOW!" the eyeglasses-ed girl had to put the phone further away after that and the mix of other voices – it must be some sort of problem involving her many jobs; that and it may be because of something she'd done to get a bunch of people to have a scream fest directed to her. Though albeit these assumptions, in the end she was not entirely sure of what happened and chose to shrug it off for the meantime and probably ask her later.

"Just get there as soon as you can, okay?" she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye or pursue to question her on the means of her transportation before the other hung up – leaving Manami in an unconfident state "Mm…"

With a small huff and the slump down of her shoulders, she guessed she'd have to figure things out on her own – it shouldn't be so hard to pick up a delivery though, but she'll have to skip out on whatever progress they'd be able to make on that day and that itself was enough to feel bad. But after concluding it would be far worse to disappoint the one who'd been family to her for ever since she could remember, she stepped back inside the room.

The last thing she heard from before she came in was a yell of "KEEP YOUR DISTANCE!"

After a year and a half of getting to know these precious clubmates of hers, she'd expect herself to not be so surprised when they did things that you'd consider peculiar – and this was no exception.

Just as she had gently opened the door, she had immediately been greeted by the sight of a shrine of seinen manga she was not sure was there earlier – it was inside one of the cabinets; there were two lamps by the side that served as what may have been supposedly worship candles as it had somehow been formed into a tower that could be compared to the regular Shinto shrines you'd see around Japan. That wasn't everything however, for just in front of it, Yuzuki Fuwa had on a karate stance whilst holding onto two pencils with a hostile glare directed at the rest. If Manami were to deduce what happened in the short time she was gone, they had probably found this manga shrine of hers and were about to lay their hands on it and provoked it a little which resulted to the otaku's 'defensive maneuvers'.

"Fu-Fuwa-san…calm down…" sweatdropped Sugino from his same spot near the bed – seemed that the only ones who partook in this were Rio, Karma and surprisingly Rinka since they were the ones that had crawled to it.

"Don't talk to me about calming down!" she pointed a peeved finger to the boy as her face now resembled those exaggerated, angry chibi faces you'd often see in anime "It's bad enough you found out about this! But even going a _meter_ near it is an immediate threat to me and my existence! And what's more!" her finger moved to the light-haired sniper whom had her usual serious expression plastered onto her face – but there was a shine to her eyes that one would be able to identify as the look one would have when gossip was in the air; as if this was something she'd like to see for her closet sadistic pleasures "Why is Rinka also in on this?!"

The orange-head's countenance had not wavered for a few seconds due to her reluctance to speak – but before she did, a shade of red reached her cheeks "…I'm turned on by humiliating secrets."

And just as Chiba choked on the drink he got from earlier, Yuzuki's high-strung state only doubled "HEH?!"

"Uh…" Manami chose that time to squeeze into the conversation before things escalated with a shy smile that came with the sweatdrop after witnessing such a weird scene "I have to leave for now so…" – this earned her the perplexed attention from them.

"Eh? You're going home already?" Rio raised an eyebrow looking a tad bit disappointed that one of her objects of enjoyment was going to leave without her doing anything yet.

Braids swept from side to side at the shake of her head "Mm, but I've been told to pick something up at Hashimoto." She beamed at them and was about to excuse herself until she caught them exchanging a few looks.

"Hashimoto's a little far. What are you going to take to get there?" the same golden-haired girl asked and was replied to with a small stutter followed by a smile from her braided friend "Eh—Well, I'm going to take the train so…"

"Do you know how to get there by train?" Yuzuki had finally calmed down when she presented her with her own concerned pinkish orbs – well aware that the girl was not one to take the said transportation; that and there was the issue with her sense of direction.

"I'm sure I can figure it out." She reassured them with a grin and a light laughter "I've been there once before and the railway system looks simple enough. Please don't worry about it."

"Well…if you say so…" Rio replied, but obviously still a little unsure of letting her go with that reason – and the train system _is_ simple enough so she'll probably get the hang of it. Still though…

"Wait a minute."

"Hm?" Manami turned to where her pigtailed friend shuffled her hands to a bag in a questioning manner and found a few papers in the girl's hold before she extended them to her "Here, take these maps. They should help you through." Rinka – being about one of the only ones in that room that took the train had of course had a handy copy of the railways; it became an unspoken policy that they could always count on her to have a few handy things from the time they'd started this silly club.

The offer had caused the raven-haired girl to go with her usual reaction as she waved her hands in front of her chest "A-Ah! No, no it's okay! You don't have to bother yourself, I'm sure I can han—"

"Take the maps." It was an order this time; delivered with a low and firm tone that would be befitting for an army commander. Something about the look Rinka had when she said this told the poison glasses that to answer with 'no' would mean something bad would happen to her – but after the recent events, this type of behavior is usually just her way of expressing her concerns and being friendly; so instead of feeling threatened, Manami just took the papers with a bit of hesitance and kept a somewhat nervous smile on. "Thank you…"

She was still yet to get the hang of her cold nature, but at least she understood her more now – and this was enough to bring a smile to the emerald-orbed girl's face. Chiba, whom watched this happen from the sidelines couldn't help but throw her a knowing smile – this only grew when she took notice of it and averted her face from him in that tsundere-like manner she always did.

"Alright, I'll be going now." With a wave of her hand and a warm smile, the petite girl left the area with the gentle shut of the door.

"Have a safe trip~" Rio was able to wave back and wish her the best before she was out of the room. Not a minute after she had done this, she abruptly sprung to her feet with an energetic grin and lit up eyes "Oh that reminds me!" she grabbed her bag from one corner of the room and slung it over her shoulder before taking her phone out "I have a meet-up planned with Kataoka, Kurahashi and Okano. I'll be heading out ne—"

Suddenly, she felt a powerful, shaky grip on her shoulder hold her back – she could practically feel the aura of what might be one of the foulest evil spirits one could even envision to which she reacted to with the widening of her eyes as her body seemed to have frozen in place along with the smile she had on; albeit this time that smile was out of pure shock of being precipitously pulled back. But that wasn't even the worst part, for the moment she turned her head ever so slightly, she had been met with what she thought was Sadako herself for Yuzuki had just given her a horrifying glare that somehow caused her eyes to glint viciously under a shadow – and with it came a wicked grin that would instill the fear of death into even the lewdest criminals as she spoke with a ghastly sarcastic tone "Oh, don't be in such a hurry Rio-chan. _CLEARLY_ I'm in need of more assistance if I want to get this design done by the break – the more the merrier right? By all means, **please stay behind**" _'So you could suffer with me.'_ – was the real reason for this action.

Albeit such a terrifying scene, Rio exerted an effort to remain unfazed "Eh? But—"

She didn't even get a chance to retort when an iphone had been shoved in front of her face "Oh well, while you're gone I may as well consider this to be one of my best options. Don't you think this would look _fantastic _on the corkboard outside of our door and well, all around the room?" the blond didn't even need to take time to study what was displayed on her phone before her eyes widened in mortification – it was an entire album of the captures from that one time Karma had gotten back at her with that suspicious liquid. And no, it did not look the least bit pretty to see yourself in such a state of suffering and it was absolutely not in her bucket list to have that exposed to the public or for her to see every day (it reminded her of the sensation too.)

Getting sucked into a cheap blackmail, Rio could only give a twitch of her eye and a mock smile out of irritation as her expression seemed to say _'You dirty son of a gun…'_ before she managed to force out "O-On second thought, I think I'll supervise you two and see how your work goes…" _'In case you pull anything funny…'_ There was a short glaring contest between them after she had submitted to this naughty act – which had the otaku grin with content as an innocent voice took over "Good~"

Just to the side, Rinka watched the scene with amusement hidden under her blank face – in truth, she did not feel sorry for the golden-haired girl and only found the blackmail sensible. And besides, there were also her sadistic pleasures here and there; to see a sadist go through a rough time was like a show.

"Hayami, stay with them." Her thought process had been cut off by an all-too-familiar voice as the owner kept himself leaned on the shelf next to her. The statement caused the orangehead to react with a raised eyebrow "Hah? Why?"

"You trust that group alone?" by 'that group', he meant the strange assembly of an otaku with a knack for saying things that appear nonsensical, a blond English veteran with many problematic components to her personality, and a decent guy that they doubt could handle such a duo if things ever went downhill to work on something their club's existence somewhat depended on. Studying the situation, she narrowed her eyes "…No."

"Have mercy on Sugino then."

Rinka knew it was the right thing to do, but couldn't stop herself from frowning "But then _I_ have to deal with them…"which was a pain in the neck just thinking about it – but with her tsundere personality, deep down she saw them as really amazing people she was glad to be friends with despite how she viewed them outwardly right now.

"I'll stay with you." This came out without reluctance and a smile on his end – eventually leading the girl to a small, bashful silence until she replied "F-Fine. Do what you want." she averted her gaze to hide the glad smile she had put on.

Over to the side of the room where group that had just been discussed gathered, they had at last started with another session of brainstorming for this design idea. Yuzuki enthusiastically raised a finger and cleared throat before giving her two coworkers some tips she'd learned from her years of being artistically-inclined "First off, we can start by trying to gather some inspiration. Usually when I'm at an art block, I have this trick of closing my eyes and turning a few times and opening them to let the first thing I see be my base idea."

"Oh~?" Rio mused with interest before getting up to try it for herself while the other two minded their own attempts

"Alright let's see if this works." Putting a palm over her eyes, she spun around about two times before revealing what it is she stopped in front of.

What blue eyes were met with at that moment had to be the strangest thing she had ever seen (And she has seen _many_ strange things thanks to an octopus) for the first thing she saw was the manga shrine looking more alluring due to some kind of weird lighting that made it look like a buddhist temple having a ritual – in which the reason of such had been unknown to her – but that wasn't the thing she considered strange; no, it was the fact that there was a mysterious animal she had known for quite a while now posed fabulously at the center in its full, brown, hybrid glory. But rather than wondering why that _thing_ was there, or when it even entered the room in the first place, or questioning her sanity for honestly considering it to be a magnificent work of art, the amount of 'weirded-out' (and somewhat trauma) she felt at the time was too much to even heed to such concerns as she said "Yuzuki-chan…"

"What?"

"…you need to rethink your methods." Something about her tone made it feel like she had just gone through a depressing stage of life.

"Eh?" was all she could say for it was such an out-of-the-blue statement.

At the same time, a jolly brunette decided to burst the door open and shout into the room with an energetic beam "I'm back! Whew! I got lost in Fuwa-san's house for a bit. I thought I'd never find you all agai— Oh? Akabane-kun and Okuda-san already left?"

After recovering from a brief surprised state, Sugino furrowed his brows "Wait…"

Not only did they forget that this girl was in this house, but if she hadn't said her last sentence they would not have noticed how they failed to perceive the disappearance of their redheaded president.

But rather than being mad about being ditched, the six of them found themselves only able to stare at the empty space questioningly.

* * *

**I know that ending sucked but I couldn't find anywhere else to end the long chapter I had in mind DX  
**

**But well I hope you enjoyed that bit at least! **

**Because this arc - I will admit - is VERY Karmanami for the next two chapters. So I'll try my best for that and I hope you look forward to it ^w^**

**OH AND WARN ME FOR OOCNESS! **

**So 'til the next update! **

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	13. Chapter 13

**OKAY! I'd like you all to get ready for this extra extra long chapter I've put together please! Hope you enjoy it cuz I know I did during some parts!**

**I'll admit I got vocabulary blocked in some parts so I apologize once more for that fact uwu**

**Since this is a long read too, It'd be much appreciated if you could point out some notable parts in the story~ And what you think of them, but only if you want though! You don't really have to but it helps a LOT!**

**Okay since the chapter is already .LONG, let's answer those reviews now:**

**kawaiichoconeko: HI AGAIN NEKO-CHAN! And I updated as soon as possible! LOL I laughed at that part myself to so I clap for random ideas XD Oh then in that case I'll request some time 030)b**

**bluemoonbutterfly: *IS GLOMPED* 8D AWWW Thanks very much! And just so you know I love long review too ^w^ Welp~! Guess you can find that out down there (SugiYuzu supporter? 83) LOL I actually laughed at that part too since it came out of nowhere XDD Aw Chiba yes. LOL hurray for Karmana and LOL! Good luck with this overdose chapter then XD And thank you very much you are fantastic as well.**

**Sweetmoegirl: HELLO MOE-KYU! Oh I see you're shipping it XD Welp the logo will be revealed sooner or later. LOL I found that funny tooXD 'll have those drawings ready by today hopefully (time: 10:04 am)**

**Quilla The Silent: HEY AGAIN QUI-CHAN! Haha go Rinka XD Lol really? Thanks! and LOL (yes good jab)**

**Title Unwanted: Thanks bro! And enjoy this one please!**

**Akikarui: You're assumptions will be put to an end now~ And there's only one way to find out ;D Oh okay~! Ooh the more you know**

**I12Bfree: AW Thanks man! Thanks for this review again! You're awesome too! And Thanks for pointing those out X'3 Yes it's a dat-*slapped* I mean yeah errand.**

**Ace Clover: Nakamura Rio exclusively lol XD HELLO AGAIN! Omg long review I love those thanks for putting the time to do so! ;w; Haha I fear that as well...but sooner or later you'll find out! ;D Lol yeah what the hell's a fucking bear-pig hybrid doing on that door XD Yep~! So look forward to that please! PFT LOL is there a secretly perverted side to Chiba-*shot* Yes he's stalk- I mean only one way to find out! **

**TheRoseShadow21: HEY ONCE AGAIN! Thanks for pointing out the hilarity you found in this chapter XD And I'm glad you found those parts funny as well as I did! Like OMo-chan in the manga shrine! XD I caught myself choking on my cereal when I thought of that. Oh and about that I guess that's a mistake on my part? Well...it's hard to control yourself when you've been forced into being paired up with the one you have one-sided feelings for I guess? X'3 Thanks again! ^W^ **

**natsuki DDS: Haha lol XD Well...idk really I just write whatever I feel like writing and I have quite the high standards when it comes to writing uwu**

**Akabane-san: Hello again! And lol Hayami XD Chiba good luck with that new discovery X'D Welp, here it is and I hope you enjoy it! and ILOVEYOU for reviewing too!**

**eastfall: HEY DUDE NO TIME NO SEE! I'm yet to answer your long PM gomen uwu I couldn't find the time to lately so I'm sorry ;w; And thanks for that detailed review once again! I always look forward to yours since they've always helped me X'3 Thanks for all the compliments! I'll take them to heart and improve! And yes I have thought up a plan for both! I'm really excited to write about them! AW! Thanks! I'm very picky with how I do my narrations X'3 And it's relieving to know that you find it nice when you're a pro X"3 And for the drama-humor balance comment thank you very much again! OMG you almost squealed XD Hope this kind of makes you do so? XD**

**animeandmangafangirl: OH YOU TOO LONG TIME! Thanks again for taking the time to review though I know you're very busy with life and all X'3 OOO~ you'll find out down there~! **

**Akatsuki-Metal: You're awesome too! And thank you very much! **

**OKAY! Too long already.**

**Disclaimer: Ansatsu Kyoushitsu belongs to Matsui-sensei. Matsui-sensei is japanese. Do I look japanese to you? Rather do you think i know much? No, therefore point made.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: If I Were To Tell You…(Part 1: You who I don't know)**

"So I can take the Chuo line's rapid service then drop off at Hachioji? Wait…can I even drop off there? And what's the difference with rapid service and the regular one? But if I come from Kanda then how many stops will it take to get there…? Will I have to change stations? Mm…" a quiet and uncertain voice with the mix of light footsteps against the hollow wooden floor of the Fuwa residence' stairs – it was a good thing her parents weren't at home, it saved them less the trouble. But despite this refreshing fact, that didn't take away the confusion the science nerd had as she scrunched her brows together in an intense way of analyzing a railway map she was not familiar of. But even with great effort such as this, a girl who had not been anywhere too far from home for the most part of her life would naturally have difficulty trying to get the hang of things for the first time – especially if it were an introverted character such as herself (who'd rather stay at home than go to places).

"Hashimoto is on the Sagami line while Tokyo is on a…" _'This map is so colorful…'_ it felt like several question marks just floated right above her as her attention shifted to the number of colors on the map and immediately felt a slight throbbing inside of her head – never trust someone with a lacking in their artistic sense with something creatively plotted out.

Manami heaved a sigh and just chose to wing it and probably ask around instead of deal with it herself when she got there – but knowing herself she'd probably get lost a few times.

Just as she reached the kitchen area just directly facing the front door, she was quite surprised to see Karma helping himself with a few beverages as he looked through the refrigerator he obviously did not own – it didn't take long before their eyes met and he greeted her with a childish smile "Yo."

She acknowledged this with her own smile and a small nod of her head (the idea of stopping him failed to cross her mind). Her eyes traveled to the milk he now had in his hand – but something about him being out here felt a little odd to her; for a brief moment she felt like he wasn't here just for the sole purpose of getting himself a drink.

"You're not going to go back?" she tilted her head as she watched him pour the drink into a glass he got from the sink. The short glance he spared her when she said this told her that her guess was correct. From her constant time being with him, she had slowly begun to read his movements or predict some of his thoughts – but she was still quite far away from getting to know all of him though.

"I was just a little curious about something." He moved to another side of the small, square, kitchen table to lean on – his carefree grin put on as always.

"Curious…?"

His gaze lowered to the drink in his hands as his orbs were fixed on the white liquid he played with by moving the cup back and forth – the grin disappeared and had been turned into a simple line on his face "Are you really gonna be okay going to Hashimoto by yourself?"

The girl should've expected this of him, but was unable to hide her surprise in the end for the question had let her shoulders jerk upwards a bit and had a soft squeak escape her lips. She could always count on him to read her easier than a children's book most of the time; and now that he had her caught red-handed again, it would be useless to even try denying such so as a result she displayed him a sheepish smile of admittance "After thinking about it…I'm not so sure…"

Karma's eyes moved back to her to see her expression before he smiled – contented with her honesty "I figured." All Manami could respond to that was a light laughter of embarrassment as she had her hands tied in front of her and shoulders lifted in that ever-conscious form that made her look stiff to most people wherever she walked.

"Well then, that only means…" he lifted the glass in front of his lips as he displayed her an ingenuous grin "I'll have to go with you~" he chimed before gulping down his drink.

Immediately, the bespectacled girl's eyes grew wide and let her mouth open slightly – she could feel some sweat trickle down her forehead at his request due to the newfound alarm that coursed through her body in her habitual manner of turning down help offered "B-but! This is my job! If you—"

She had been silenced by the loud thud caused by the boy colliding his glass to the wooden table with a notable amount of force. When she lifted her head to study his expression, what she saw were half-lidded eyes and a smirk – this time it gave her the message that his answer was just a flat-out 'No.' to whatever she had to say.

"Hm…" Manami pouted, knowing she couldn't do anything once his mind's been made up. But it relieved her to know that she won't have to deal with this by herself and was grateful for his offer.

A thought unbecoming of her it may be, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't glad that it was him and not anyone else.

* * *

Tokyo Station was at its usual busy state – what with the clutter of people making their own noises here and there and the endless tapping of hectic footsteps, you couldn't expect anything less of the central station of such a large city. Though the building may be large and well covered, the light of the summer sun had been able to seep in and give a yellow-ish glow to the glossy floor.

In the first floor of this distinguished building, a pair of 15 year old's stationed themselves in front of the public railway map as they analyzed it for a while. Karma had his arms crossed while he leaned forward and took note of the directions for their travel while Manami also did her best to remember the way around.

The redhead squint his eyes a bit "When I look at it, it's not that complicated to get there, but it's a long way. We'll have to change about twice at least."

The raven-haired girl eyed him with praise "Wow, you really know your way around."

He replied to this by presenting her with another casual smile and straightening himself up for he had finished studying the map "Well, I take trains from time to time since I don't actually drive. And it's not that hard to understand which makes it all the more convenient for me to use." With a stretch of his arms to the back of his head, he began to walk away from the board heard her follow suit with just a spec of agitation – she must've been late to notice him leave "Alright, now that I've gotten the way remembered, let's get you a manaca."

Manami looked puzzled by this and tilted her head by the time she caught up to him "Mana…ca?"

"Yep. It's a card you use to get through. Do you have money?"

"Mhm."

"Yush, let's go."

Getting the manaca card was fairly easy. All they had to do was go to the Fare Adjustment machine and ask for assistance from there on. Karma couldn't bring himself to hide his laughter when he took notice of his companion's face of awe that could easily be compared to that of a five year old whom discovered technology for the first time when she got a hold of her new necessity. Although that had been amusing in itself, what was more entertaining for the devilish boy was when her purple orbs seemed to had sparkled with a few rainbow colors when she was absolutely wondered by the simplicity of swiping the card and getting the doors of the ticket gates to open – he was beginning to think she had forgotten her reason for coming here since she looked to be enjoying herself too much.

However, this fun had been short lived for the both of them – especially for the taller one between the two.

* * *

**Train Incident #1: 1 Stop**

"So once we drop off at Kanda we have to move to a rapid service?" Lavender eyes moved upwards to meet with mercury with inquisitiveness.

They were now inside their first train heading to the aforementioned area. This car had been quite filled since it was about after lunchtime – one of the busiest times of the day day; as a result they were left standing up to hold on to the handle.

"Yep. From there we have a whole nineteen stops to wait before getting off." he assured her with an extra quiet voice since they were in a public area being surrounded by quite a few people. The raven-haired girl nodded in understanding as they waited for their stop – when she gave it enough thought, the trains in this railway were quite fast; she feels that the longest it would probably take them would be an hour and a half. Despite having been in a swell mood since she'd learned a few things or two about the train system, she felt a tad bit disappointed that the view from outside had been blocked by lots of much taller folk; they just had to be in the middle of the crowd.

Her thoughts had been interrupted by an artificial voice coming from a P.A repeating _"We will now be arriving at Kanda"_ as she could feel the train slow down and make her body get into a bit of an imbalance once it had come to a stop.

"Okuda-san, let's go—" Karma had been cut off by the sudden increase of people inside the car that prevented the both of them from coming out. But that wasn't all of it for with this fast rise of the population within this one train had resulted to the two of them getting squeezed by masses of people and eventually becoming separated from one another.

"K-Karma—" this came out a little muffled as they piled up before her and had her pushed to the corner – she wasn't even able to raise a hand to indicate where she was and only watched as he had been pushed to the other side as well; heck, he almost ended up in the opposite corner from her. Luckily he had a forceful side to him that didn't allow for such, but the most spacious spot as of that moment was in the middle; still a little far from where Manami was but good enough for him to see her.

He cursed inwardly – not only did he forget about the fact that 1 pm wasn't the best time to travel due to lunch rush, but they had missed their stop, meaning they'd have to drop off at the next and get themselves back on track. This was annoying enough, but apparently the universe didn't think it was for he felt another pang of irritation turn in his stomach when his chemistry-loving friend got into a tight situation with a few jock-like middle schoolers – literally; she was just pressed in between them like a sandwich with a bug-eyed expression as there appeared to be a quivering in her mouth and blue lines down the side of her head that expressed how uncomfortable she was with her position. Fortunately, she was short and petite so they hadn't noticed her presence due to the size difference.

For now, he sucked it up until the next station with furrowed brows and the click of his tongue.

But next to him just had to be another schoolmate with a crush on him.

**Train Incident #2: Change**

"You look disgruntled, Karma-kun…" Manami commented in observation as the two now made their way to their train change in the Kanda station after much troublesome matters. To their luck, this station was less filled compared to where they had come from (probably because most of them left on that one train ride).

Karma replied to this with a sarcastic smirk while he tried to forget the very annoying events of their previous ride and scoffed "No, I'm fine. Let's just make sure we're careful this time otherwise we'll spend too much for our fare."

She doubted he was really fine, but decided not to push it and brushed the topic away to agree to his last sentence with a nod. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it." She said with a bit of confidence as she placed gently curled fists in front of her chest. Feeling a little dismayed that the boy was doing all of the work in taking her there, a particular urge came to her as she had a new, determined face on.

_Okay, I have to exert some effort and help Karma-kun if ever we get into another mix-up like that. _She nodded at her own thoughts and chose to start helping him out now with an energetic beam on her face.

"Where are we going to nex…?" She blinked after observing how there was no sign of red or a person for that matter to her left where she expected him to be.

"Heh?" Manami stopped in her tracks with a blinking expression and felt the smile dissipate from her features the second she found herself surrounded by strangers walking off in different directions – but for some reason, despite this population, she felt like there was a big space left with her in the middle to deal with her own confusion. Another look around the area and it was finally clear.

Yep, she got lost.

* * *

"Where did she go this time?" Karma grunted in exasperation as he briskly walked about the station's main ground whilst turning his head side to side to try and spot anyone who looked clumsy enough to be her.

Of course she got lost – he would not have noticed had it not been for the uneasy gut feeling that she was bound to get into another mess in this kind of area. Another sigh escaped his mouth when he found her by the restrooms and washing areas – although this was a good thing, he didn't take pleasure in finding her there being picked on by (coincidentally) the science nerd of the five virtuosos, Koyama whatever-his-first-name-was (since Karma didn't care about remembering). He wasn't sure how it ended up that they just _had_ to run into each other in here of all places and of all times; but from what he had witnessed, she was taking it rather well by retaliating and using scientific comebacks and the whatnot – he would've questioned her priorities when it came to courage because he found himself wondering why it is that she can stand up to him without fail and with that adorable trying-hard glare and yet can't handle the more normal and less intimidatingly ugly people, but of course he couldn't just stand there and enjoy the show.

If they weren't catching a train in about a minute from now, he would've chosen to lean back on the nearest wall and watch the nerds deal with their controversy – but seeing as the Koyama guy started getting physical by hitting her on the head a few times, (even if it got cute reactions from her) he went over to the line of faucets attached to the wall right next to them.

With fast hands, he turned the lever to a high pressure setting and directed the tube at the virtuoso's face – smirking with delight while doing so and couldn't have found more enjoyment in seeing his startled reaction and hilarious, sprayed face. While the eyeglasses-ed man was busy dealing with the unexpectedly hot water and cursed even louder when he saw the infamous redheaded delinquent running away with his most-hated academic rival. Not only did he just have his nose become runny and glasses blur from the temperature of the liquid, but along with his literally hot head he fumed just by encountering the two banes of his existence and chased after them – cursing again when the scarlet-haired boy stuck a sardonic tongue at him.

In their pursuit, Karma didn't allot time for scanning their cards on the ticket gates and dragged Manami with him as they merely jumped over it – as a result, not only have they angered their previous schoolmate, but now a few heated guards joined in their hunt.

One thing's for sure: They're not going back to Kanda.

**Train Incident #3: 19 Stops**

To their luck, there were available seats this time – they deserved it after all that havoc. It was quieter by the time they'd settled themselves in, not to mention spacious; but reasons for such were not because it was peaceful. Rather, the type of quiet they had themselves enveloped in was the type that could choke a man – naturally, the rest of the passengers whom sensed the intensity within the vicinity would stray away from it so as to not have goosebumps all over their bodies (and to continue breathing).

Of all the people who had to board the same train and sit directly in front of them, it had to be the former student council president of Kunugigaoka Middle School – Asano Gakushuu.

For several seconds, Manami could do nothing but keep herself straight on her seat while smiling nervously just to ease the tension even she had got caught in just by observing how the two of Kunugigaoka's finest merely stared at each other. Occasionally, she'd involuntarily shiver and feel her body go cold from the inability to breathe properly and the chills that coursed through her.

All the while, Karma had his hands in his pockets as he kept laid back in his seat with narrowed eyes directed at his rival. Asano crossed his arms and returned this with his ever-malevolent violet, sharp eyes and a serious expression as he bore into the other's glint-less eyes with the same amount of abhorrence. They spent what felt like an hour just staring at each other that way when really it had only been five minutes since they got on the same train – it was like not even a spec of the grudges they held against one another last year had dissipated.

The first one to break this all-consuming silence was the boy whom sat by her "What are you doing here?" it came out monotonously and outwardly expressed a sarcastic type of boredom.

The lighter-toned haired boy replied to this in almost the same type of manner but did not falter his glare "I have business in Shinjuku."

"I see."

Just by that small talk, the chemistry-lover felt her limbs go numb; the anxiety inside of her grew which led to her body now constantly shuddering and eventually stiffening to the point she felt like cold, dry cement as her anxiety only grew – not even a brawl between two of the most famous boxing champions could beat the extremity of this regular conversation.

Karma started again "Is your dad well?"

"Go take a hike."

**Respite:**

By this time, the train had really become peaceful (much to everyone's relief).

They were about nine stops away from their next destination – there were only a few people left and nobody was left standing up, which gave Manami a chance to finally admire the city's view even with the fast-moving train.

From the window, houses, trees, fields of green and amusement parks were often passed by, which brought glee to the bespectacled girl's wondered orbs – she hadn't been this far away from her apartment before, and to perceive such sights under the bright daylight with the added comfort of the tranquil train, it made this first experience of hers more memorable albeit it being very troublesome for the past hour. Next to her, Karma also appeared to be relishing in this momentary lull; after all, he had gotten stressed out a few times so normally he'd succumb to another lazy position with his arms stretched back and eyelids shut.

The girl smiled a little sheepishly "Are you tired?"

He opened one eye to acknowledge her before eventually having both of them reveal themselves after a sigh "Not really. But something's been on my mind." He rested his stationed his palms to the sides of his seat and leaned back on them. "What's so important for you to pick up doing in a far place like Hashimoto?"

"Mm?" Manami blinked at this for a second before putting a finger to her chin "Well… from what I've been told, that's where Inari-nee and my mom used to live so they may have a few things there."

"Now that you mention it…" he tilted his head a tad out of a slight curiosity "What kind of person is your mom?" – she never talked about her with him before; neither did he with his own but after the mention of the person he wasn't able to restrain his curiosity for he felt a bit of regret wash over him when he saw her suddenly flustered state.

"Ah—Erm…My mom's dead so I don't really know..." She said the last three words with an uncomfortable chuckle – and he didn't miss how her shoulders tensed up with the intertwining of her fingers. Her tone made it seem like this was another regular conversation; she wasn't even shaking at this. But seeing as he touched a sensitive topic quite recklessly, he immediately attempted to amend for his mistake and faced the ground sympathetically "…Sorry." He should've figured this much; after all she lived with a nurse. And he took it into account that it would be a good call not to ask about her dad if that was so.

She noticed how her answer had brought him into a bit of a discomfort and decided to ease him of worry with a warm smile – she wouldn't want to leave him feeling that way and decided to answer his question "But I heard stories…" she lifted her head to gaze at the afternoon sky and let her earliest memories come to her.

"Inari-nee described her to be really clumsy, but she was too kind to people around her so she got tricked easily…but when it came to things that mattered…she didn't hesitate to fight for them. That was the kind of person she was, from what I've been told…also…" _'Sounds familiar…' _Karma didn't fail to observe how the gaze she had to the sky had become distant by the lowering of her eyelids – reminiscent purple orbs that lost a bit of their shine as he could tell there was a yearning somewhere there; especially with the sudden calmness of her voice "She…smelled good…" what flashed in her mind was the blurred image of a dark-haired woman whose face she couldn't quite comprehend, but a welcoming smile was present. "And had very…" she brought a palm to the side of her cheek and stifled an almost non-existent, lighthearted chuckle "Warm hands…"

_'Don't make that face.'_ He absentmindedly thought as he looked down on her with a blank expression. By his silence, she could tell that she had just bathed them in a bittersweet atmosphere and had brought an awkward air between them; she unintentionally went too deep into the topic. Feeling responsible for this, she faced him and grinned once more.

"Please don't bother yourself with it. In any case, let's talk about your mom." The inquisitive shine in her eyes came back and with it came a more energetic voice. At this, Karma raised an eyebrow "Mine? Well, she travels around the world most of the time so she's rarely at home. There's not much to say about her." He replied casually and shrugged at his last sentence.

"Then, what kind of person is she?" she seemed to be rather enthusiastic about this topic – but he didn't pay much mind to it for he was too busy contemplating on the words to use if he were to describe the woman that raised him.

"…Not like most."

"Hm?"

_"We are now approaching Hachioji. Hachioji"_

**Train Incident #4: 4 Stops**

_Come to think of it…_

They were back inside a train full of people and were left to stand up next to each other once again – but at the very least it was relieving to know that this was their last train.

It was a relatively quiet train – neither person wanted to meddle with each other as only a few mumbles of conversation were the only sounds able to reach the poison glasses' ears as she eyed her companion with interest; he kept his stare to the opposite side of hers in anticipation for the nearing stop, therefore he had noticed her gaze to the back of his head yet.

_His hair is a rare color…_

Given the silence they were in, she couldn't help herself from becoming a slave to her mind and caught herself wandering to a few trivial thoughts and observing things with more depth – and right now, it was the set of scarlet locks that belonged to her friend.

As opposed to everyone else in this train, she had come to an awareness which regarded the mischievous boy's red crown being different from the rest of them whom had either brown or black hair. Her thoughts had reached a certain depth that had her asking a multitude of questions in her mind that were circled around his hair and only that. And as curiosity had gotten the best of her yet again that day, her hand unknowingly reached upwards and scrunched it gently.

At this, Karma's eyes widened by the sudden touch before he turned to her "What?"

"It feels normal…" was all she said as a response with an expression that looked like she just made a significant revelation.

"Hah?" this time he raised an eyebrow and only found it more confusing when she continued to scrunch his hair up gently as if she was taking in its texture with a look of piqued interest.

"Uh…" his brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes traveled side to side from the strange situation; she didn't say anything back and only pursued with her actions.

A few seconds more disturbing seconds passed before Karma gently put her wrist down.

* * *

"Oh!"

Manami expression lit up with awe at the sight of the old fraction of Tokyo she used to reside in. It wasn't anything special – one could easily compare it to the many other divisions of this large city. Tall buildings were aligned on one side accordingly as there would be other, much smaller shops stationed in another nearby street in an organized architecture plan. Houses would be found a little farther from the station's exit but next to it were a few diners and the whatnot convenient for travelers to stop by at. The area was clean, peaceful and spacious, those are a few notable parts – there was a respectful amount of trees of different species too; which wouldn't be a bad place to raise a child.

The science geek jogged ahead just to take all of this in and turned around a few times with a bit of an ecstatic smile "I hardly remember it, but it's so nostalgic!" she exclaimed – she must be enjoying this too much for Karma observed how she found joy in the smallest detail (i.e a mailbox), but it wasn't as if he didn't like the face she made right now; but before she goes out of control again-

"Oi, Oi, we can save that for later if you want. So, where is this place?" he walked over to her side with a casual smile and hands inserted to his pockets. Realizing she had gotten carried away, a small sound of surprise came from her.

"Ah—Well, uhmm…" she turned her head from side to side in search for the way – for a second, he suspected that she had gone all the way here and yet didn't know where the store was; but luckily such had been eased once she pointed to a nearby street to their left "If I remember correctly, it's somewhere there."

"Are you sure? What's the store's name?" he cocked his head to the side in inquiry – he still had a few doubts if she really knew where she was going.

By this time they were already walking side by side to where she had her finger directed to. Manami kept a smile on when she answered; still rather delighted by the fact that she was back to where she spent her primary days after years "I don't remember the name, but I can remember where it was."

"Heh? That's some good memory you have." he mused and gave her an impressed smile which fortunately got him another cute, flustered reaction from her before she gestured to a place.

"Oh, looks like we're here."

His eyes were met with an old, run-down building not bigger than your usual convenience store. From what he could make out at first glance, it was your usual run-on-the-mill café that appeared to be gaining on its age considering there were a few things he could point out that were in need of some revamping – it was lacking in some customers too. If anything, he was a little surprised it hadn't been taken down for a better service; but he guessed there were still a few elderly folk that would take their time to visit the place. That wasn't the only thing on his mind while they walked up the steps in front of the glass door, for he had also been wondering what business a delivery of sorts would the nerd next to him have in this type of place.

With a small push of the door, they entered with the added sound of a wind chime that sounded through the empty restaurant. The place was clean and well preserved for its age – there were a two vending machines standing at the sides and a kitchen over at the back of the room where they spotted someone fixing a few things behind the counter.

Upon hearing the chime, an old man wearing a sailor chef's uniform revealed himself from the said counter while holding a drawer of utensils. He was bald under the sailor's hat and had a bit of weight for the white polo shirt looked to be a little tight on him even under the black apron – but that could be excused by his years. On further observation, he had a bit of a big nose upon his chubby face and all they could make out of his eyes were mere horizontal lines on his face – like how most old geezers look.

"Ah, Welco—!" right when he turned to their direction, he dropped the drawer which made an ear-splitting crash resonate through the room – his jaw dropped to an exaggerated point; like he had just seen a zombie spring back to life.

"Ha- Hanako?!" he managed to yell out of utter disbelief when he faced the direction Manami stood – all the said girl could manage to respond with was "E-Eh?" with the jerk up of her shoulders and an impulsive step back in tremor. All Karma could do at the time was raise an eyebrow in bewilderment.

The old man didn't stop looking at her with an aghast expression but later somewhat came to his senses when another man – a much younger one – came to the scene from the kitchen in a bit of a panic. "What's going on?" it was a calm, middle-aged voice, yet laced with concern. He had brown hair tied with a cook's bandana and a white shirt with the same black apron tied to his back as it covered him from the waist below.

"Ah…er—…" the old man was still far from recovering from his state for he appeared to be dealing with an overflow of thoughts. The newcomer to the area moved his focus to the high school students by their door and acknowledged them with a smile "Oh, welcome." He let himself in fully and approached the two.

"E-Er…w-we're looking for Arata Miho-san?" The braided girl, still a little taken aback after what happened stammered out.

A slight pause came from the man before he laughed uneasily "A-Ahaha. My father passed away a year ago."

Manami felt a pang of guilt in her chest for a brief moment after hearing such "I-Is that so? S-Sorry…"

"Please don't give it much thought. I'm Arata Hifumi. I can take whatever business he had for you. So, why is it you've come?" he put a hospitable smile back on and had this energetic store clerk aura to him that thankfully was comforting for the introverted girl as it let her gain composure quickly.

"U-Uhm, I'm supposed to pick something up under—"

"Oh! So you're the official owner of that case then, right? Please wait here while I get it." And with that he walked off with a wave and to another door which she guessed was a storage room. Manami wasn't sure if he was just that sharp, but something about the way he cut her off just then made her feel like she was an eyesore to him and bit her lip from uncertainty.

On the other hand, Karma took notice of how the old man didn't cease to stare at her even with the shocked face gone "Oi, Old man."

The one who was called came to his senses with a choked sound of surprise before he shifted his attention to the tall boy with the derisive grin on his face "Are you a lolicon?"

"Ah—Eh?! What was that you—"

"You've been staring at her creepily for a while now." Karma continued with a teasing smirk – but he also wanted to get some explanations from his earlier outburst to have some questions in his mind cleared up.

The old man didn't pay much attention to the insult this time for he had his focus on the girl again and appeared to only have become aware of his gaping when the redhead mentioned it "Er—N-no it's just that I mistook her for someone else." After he watched her fidget a bit, all of a sudden he'd gone into grouchy old person mode and turned his back on them. "O-Other than that, once you're done get outta here! We're about to close and we don't serve bratty teenagers!"

Karma just found another source of enjoyment "Cranky, aren't we?"

He only grumbled in irritation as a response and slammed the door – which resultantly shook some of the tables and imbalanced vending machines. The boy had not finished ridiculing him though for with another child-like grin, he put a hand by the sound of his mouth and yelled "Oii~ don't forget to tell your husband to scrub your back well in the salt bath tonight!"

A grumpy and slurred "SHUT UP!" came from the kitchen – leaving the mercury-orbed boy with a grin of satisfaction from the results of his trouble-making. Manami, being so used to his personality, could only laugh nervously and apologize for his behavior in both of their behalf.

Just then, Arata came from the door he disappeared to now holding an old briefcase he must have taken the time to polish "Here it is! Sorry to have you waiting." He grinned at them whilst he handed it over to the petite-framed girl whom obliged to the action.

She shook her head "It's okay."

Before the two can exchange farewells, a thought lingered in Karma's mind – one he had not dismissed since they've entered "Hey, Arata-san."

His interjection to the word exchange had the man look to his direction with a bit of puzzlement which urged him to continue "Who's this Hanako character?"

Manami, whom had her gaze to the briefcase in her hands, felt her eyes widen slowly and ever so slightly –accompanying it was a nearly inaudible hum that led her to keep her head lowered.

"Ah, did Hide-san mention that? Well…how you say…" Arata scratched his head in the process of searching for the words to say about this woman "Hanako-san was an old customer of ours – one Hide-san took a liking to even with his grouchy personality. But I can't say much about her since I was still a boy during the times she visited."

The use of 'was' got Karma's attention so he decided to drop the topic there – plus, the face the short girl made after his question didn't fail to catch his eye.

"Alright." He finished it up with a casual smile and opened the door behind them for his companion to exit first. "Thanks for having us." She bowed and waved in farewell with the briefcase now in hand.

Just as they left, the elder named Hide-san leaned on the kitchen door and listened in to their conversation about the particular girl with one thought in mind as he pictured the one with the glasses just now.

_'She looks too much like her…'_

* * *

A quiet walk ensued between them after they had exited the café with their agenda in hand.

Manami's gaze remained downcast ever since they left the area – and to say this bothered the prankster next to her would be a little bit of an understatement. All that could be heard were the slow paced steps of two fifteen year olds on the stone sidewalk bathed in the shadow of a building which went against the light of the now somewhat orange-hued sun.

Karma was the first to break the uncomfortable silence between them with an out-of-the-blue question that had the dark-haired girl perk up "Hanako-san's the name of your mom?"

A bit of perplexity washed over her – how was he able to figure that out? Then again, it was obvious with what just happened back there; resultantly, she lowered her head again with a quiet "Mhm…"

He decided from her tone that it was best not to pry and respect her feelings towards this by not adding any more comments on the topic. Observing how this was the second time she had gotten him into another unpleasant atmosphere, Manami tried to reassure him thinking he was troubled by her suddenly finding something out about her mom today.

"I don't really know a lot about her…" she displayed him a heartening grin before her next sentence "But I don't think it's a bad thing to get to know her." In all honesty, she had not been aware of this café being something one of her parents used to go to – not to mention to be remembered in such a way. She didn't exactly take joy in talking about paternities she barely remembered anything about, and neither did Inari for whenever she used to ask her as a child she'd answer her with a vague 'They were great people I'm sure you'd love.' It wasn't 100% pleasant to hear more about them, but she didn't take it as such a terrible thing to brood about either.

"Don't let it bother you. I may wonder from time to time, but it'll all be the same." She faced the sky that was now starting to have a mix of orange to its earlier white clouds – in her reminiscence, she couldn't help but admire the now sky that had begun to take shades of orange and a darker blue as the clouds resembled the wings of the feathers of the morning sparrows that soar through the sky elegantly and with freedom. Karma was a little surprised on how well she took this in, but content with the end of the discussion, he smiled.

"Alright. By the way, what's in that thing anyway?" he pointed to the case in her hands – on further inspection, it was like that the container hadn't been preserved very well for the dusty, leather surface around it started to peel off and wither due to what probably had been termites.

"I don't know… Inari-nee said not to open it." She replied nonchalantly, but there was a hint of held-back curiosity. Hearing the name of the woman and her strict instruction only aroused his mischievous side yet again as he felt himself smirk.

"Ho? That just makes things more interesting~"

"But—Wha—Wait!"

She didn't even get a chance to react properly before he took the object from her hands like it was nothing – it only added to her dismay when he refused to heed to her retorts or flustered stammers as she spotted the malicious smirk grow on his face. All she could do after that was twiddle her fingers nervously and feel anxious of the possibility of her guardian finding out about her instruction being disobeyed and privacy invaded (by her least favorite brat too).

"Now, let's see…" without another moment's hesitation, he lifted the case' handle just enough for him to take a peek. At that moment, his smile faded away along with the sense of naughtiness – especially since his eyes were first met with the name 'Okuda Hanako'. It brought him to quite the puzzlement when he reviewed how many times this woman had been brought up in a day and within short time intervals, but the thought died almost immediately when other things inside caught his attention. There were a multitude of items he assumed to be the mementos of the rightful owners of this box, but there were only a few things that had questions rise inside him. First was the folder where he read the name and below it was the logo of a hospital he wasn't so familiar of but was certain within Tokyo. Next, a picture of a man in spectacles and a lab coat which he had to presume was her father, and finally, next to it was the photo of the three year old version of the girl beside him paperclipped to a folded stack of custody papers.

It had only been for a mere four seconds, but Manami noticed how his expression had become blank and wasn't able to stop the growing curiosity in the pit of her stomach "What's inside?"

Thinking fast, he closed the case and presented her with a devilish smirk as he stroked the case tauntingly "You want to know~?" At that moment he resembled what one might think was a demon leading you into temptation that would cost your life while he basked in sadistic pleasure – and something about the tone he gave her had been able to kill whatever inquisitiveness she had as she backed away a little "…I don't think I do…" she managed to mutter out as nervous beads of sweat came down.

Satisfied, he returned it to her – but what he had just perceived did not fail to keep persistent in his mind as he tried to comprehend the sight just now while they carried on with their walk. But just when he was in the midst of his thought process, a glow faded in from the corner of his eye as the noise around them doubled by the sound of a rather large crowd. After turning to inspect it, he was met with a summer festival going on in the shrine on the same sidewalk as theirs.

It was too populated for a simple shrine visit; so it must've been a summer festival for this side of town today. Lanterns were hung on the strings that connected food stalls packed with customers either wearing Yukatas or just simple casual clothing as others made use of their time to hang out with friends while they tried out some of the shrine's charms.

It seemed that his partner had also become intrigued by this judging from the silence the two were brought to. For moments, they only kept their eyes on the bright and alluring area until Karma spoke "Do you want to go in?"

Manami shook her head and intertwined her fingers together behind her "I'm not very interested in these kinds of things. It's too crowded for me." Her eyelids lowered in what he may assume to be a sign of distaste for the event before she turned her gaze up to him "Do you want to go inside?"

"I'm not into these either." He shrugged and stretched his arms up to his head before he proceeded to step forward to continue their path back home – but that was until he sensed that he wasn't being followed by his companion and turned around to find her completely entranced by something.

Following her gaze, his eyes landed on a rectangular piece of equipment containing water, some colorful play-balls and fish as those surrounding it held nets and swiftly tried to catch their prey with the fragile material. A clever smirk made its way to his face when he looked back at the girl "Not interested, huh?" he raised an eyebrow while he came near her.

The reaction he got had yet again amused him for she jolted up from embarrassment before giggling a little shamefacedly to answer his question. He chuckled "Go try it out then."

"But aren't we going home?"

"It won't hurt." With that, he took her wrist and pulled her into the merry crowd.

* * *

Because of her five straight failures, Karma ended up getting it for her.

"It's kind of cute…"

The two of them were now walking away from the event with their prize in the small girl's hands. Manami's eyes seemed to glisten in admiration whilst her lavender orbs bore into the plastic containment that held a tiny fish whose silver scales went beautifully with its dark-bluish, violet fins and tail. It wasn't anything all that special, but since Karma had asked her which one she wanted, this one had immediately caught her eye and she was left astounded by how he was able to get it in one try.

The said boy currently took enjoyment by how fazed she was by the small creature – it reminded him of how she looked back in the excursion; where he had discovered the desire to have her make that kind of expression all the time. "Let's give it a name then." he suggested with the tilt of his head and smiled when she adorably went into her thinking mode.

"Hm…what do you think?"

"I'm not one to name things unless they're insults." He replied honestly – heck he even looked a little proud of that fact; to which she responded to with a small laughter before she got herself thinking again. With the touch of her chin using a gently curled fist, she began to contemplate on the perfect name.

"Then…Manaka?"

Karma raised an eyebrow at this before he smiled teasingly "Manaca? You like that card that much?"

Realizing what she just said, she quickly took her free hand and waved it around in front of her as she stuttered out "Ah—N-No no! It's not that! I mean …" she paused for a bit after regaining her composure. At her next words, she had kept a tender gaze on the small creature within her hands as a soft and warm smile graced her lips as she worded them out with a genuine and affectionate tone.

"Manaka as in…Manami and Karma…"

_Badump_

And that was when he felt a sensation boom inside his chest that caused his smile to die and eyes to go wide. For moments there, he felt as if his body had gone numb as he absentmindedly stopped breathing for that very sentence had somehow created a force that pulsed through his figure and stop in his tracks – he didn't know how it had come to be, nor was he able to understand why such a simple set of words had caused him to react this way; heck he wasn't even sure why his mind had completely gone blank at the time – all he could do then was stare at the back of her form as she continued to take slow steps over a wooden bridge that was now right in front of them.

A few seconds later, Manami noticed how her friend had abruptly stopped once she was in the middle of the bridge; turning around, she presented him a quizzical purple orbs somewhat blocked by the orange shine on her glasses "Hm? What's wrong?"

"Ah—no…it's nothing…" once he had realized he was staring, he attempted to avert his gaze subtly by facing the floor to the side to use his hair as a mask for his vexation – making it a point to walk to her while doing so as to not let suspicions rise; but even then he did not feel whatever emotion he had disappear completely no matter how hard he pushed it down.

The braided girl blinked at his strange response for a bit – wondering whether she had done something to get his mood to suddenly change. But that notion died as quick as it came once her attention had been claimed by the beautiful view of the horizon she found just to her left and let a blissful smile stretch her face "Oh, it's the sunset…"

She positioned herself on the wooden railings to admire the view after she settled the fish pouch on top of it. Soon after, Karma followed the same gesture and leaned himself on the fence next to her – equally intrigued by the sight.

It was nothing short of magnificent – there was nothing that blocked their view of the horizon that had taken a bright orange color that faded away to taints of yellow to blue and to purple the farther it had gotten from the gigantic orb of light harmonizing marvelously with the patches of clouds that were a work of art by themselves; but that wasn't all of it for just then for what made it the most captivating was how the patch of water within the vicinity glowed and sparkled in a magical manner that could easily beguile even the pickiest of art critics. What's more, the trees to the side of this small lake caressed the water to have it make beautiful ripples that only heightened the two's admiration for it while they basked in the comfortable silence and the delicate breezes of the summer that had the sound of waves remedy them.

The girl was the first to speak with a soft yet genuine voice that didn't break the comforting atmosphere one bit "It's so gentle…the sunset I mean." She didn't need to look at the boy next to her to see if he had his eyes to her for blurting that out – but he kept silent and listened to her. "It brings a nice feeling to people as days come to an end…as if it's telling you to cheer up or 'good work today, bye for now'…but even when it leaves it still keeps people happy." Her smile didn't waver one bit in being genuine while she only gazed at the lights and colors brought to them by nature amorously.

It caught him by a mild surprise when he came to a thought that she viewed the world with such depth albeit being an introvert that would rather deal with technical problems with only one answer. He wasn't aware that she held so much love for things so mundane and interpreted them that way since she wasn't one that enjoyed dealing with fussy emotions and the like. But the face she made when she described the nature right in front of them told him that there was obviously more sides to the girl than one would think.

"You want to become someone like that?" he kept his eyes on the view and waited for her response

"Maybe…but…I kind of want to be like Isura-senpai one day…" she had a softer expression when he looked to her – so she finally said it out loud.

Upon realizing what she had said, Manami came to her senses and faced him sharply with a flustered state "A-Ah! I-I mean, well, o-of course I'll never be able to compare b-but well…senpai is a really amazing person. Sometimes I catch myself wondering if I'll be able to be as good as her one day…" her eyes now gave the message that she was relishing a daydream she knew was out of her reach when she turned back to the sky.

Karma kept a serious expression on as he rested his elbow on the rail to cup his cheek before he replied "…I don't think it's necessary to aspire to be someone else."

"Hm? What do you mean?" her gaze shifted to him yet again in a curious manner.

"You're you even in the end of all things, so I don't think we should worry about something like that. If there's anything we can be…it's what we choose to be. And…" he rotated his head to face her properly and present her with a refreshing smile "The you right now is fine."

This had led her to stare at him in a bit of a daze for he was looking back at her with such gentility that led to her having a hunch that there was something more to that statement of his – but he quickly turned that into a mocking grin and turned back to the horizon "But you still have a few things to fix. Like your train curse for example." He stuck his tongue out at the last sentence and found entertainment with her guilt-stricken gulp and sheepish laughter afterwards.

"What about you Karma-kun?" she shared the view with him once more and placed her hands behind her back and smiled.

"Hm? Well…" it took him a moment to grasp what she meant by that but he didn't take too long as he said the next set of sentences with no hint of a lie in them as he faced the sky with resolute, pale-golden orbs "The only one who can ever understand me is me – the only one that's gotten me this far is me, so I don't really have anyone else to look up to and try to become. If I want something done, I get it done. I'll be who I am when I do things and won't let anyone change that."

Manami's lids lowered as her bright smile faded away a tad before she moved her eyes to him.

_I'm sure Karma-kun has gone through things…that led him to keep his heart locked away from people…and not trust so easily. But…_

"Being yourself, huh…" she mused for a bit before she stepped towards a few wooden steps she found on their side of the bridge which led to a small patch of moist soil just before the lake in quite the child-like manner – what with the hands behind her back and the heel-first steps she took which resounded through the hollow wood, Karma could only hum questioningly when he noticed her unexpected actions.

Soon enough, the braided girl made it to a specific part of the small piece of land that had her directly staring up at the redhead whom had not moved from his spot and only stared back at her in a tad bit of confusion.

_I want to get myself in…my own way…_

"Karma-kun…" she displayed him a smile that held nothing short of caring for this dear friend of hers. For some reason, she felt like she had stared at him this way once before

_'Can…Can we go out for juice again?'_

With the same determination, the same emotions but stronger, and with the same genuine resolve that brought about an inducing aura she unconsciously gave out. Inside, she felt a warm and comforting sensation just by gazing at his face bathed in the sunset's rays.

_I want to know…what this person holds inside._

Karma was left speechless but took control of his outward features and kept himself blank. But beneath it, he drowned himself in his awe because of the way she looked at him – but that wasn't the most part. Her eyes glistened beautifully underneath the spectacles that reflected himself on them; and to add up to the face he'd always taken joy in seeing, the glimmers brought to them by the lake that shined against her made her form glow in such a way he could not describe with mere words. With the view of the sunset sky and the splendors of the world around her, he couldn't stop himself from just keeping his gaze fixed on her.

And the view he thought could not get any more enticing, only doubled when she cocked her head to the side and beamed radiantly at him again. "You can have Manaka."

_'Oh…so that's all you had to say…'_ he unconsciously let this thought come up– but it wasn't a lie. All of that show she just blessed him with, and that was the only thing she said. He was far from understanding the reasons she had for this, but after deciding that this was just another one of her unexpectedly wondrous actions, a smile came to his face.

_'Jeez…this person…'_

Manami herself was not entirely sure why she had gone through the trouble of going down just to tell him that, but every fiber in her body just felt like doing so – and after giving it much thought, maybe; just maybe she can start her journey into his heart with that one tiny creature she had named after both of them.

It was as if they both thought the exact same words after another moment of gazing at each other.

_'This person…'_

* * *

"That reminds me, we should buy fish food."

The crescent moonlit sky now hovered above the heads of the two as they headed for their station – but they had to pass by the summer festival again since they sidetracked themselves after all. By this time, some of the stalls had come to a close as the crowds of people from earlier decreased to only small numbers; and even they were the ones to leave the area next since there was not much to do in it anymore. The lanterns from earlier had been taken off and the small food shops began tearing down their stands to store it for the next one – so now, the only sounds that surrounded them were the crunches of the grass beneath their feet and the small chatters of people scattered in different places.

Karma held the small plastic bag in his hand as he would occasionally plump it gently to play with the water (and disturb the fish) "Why don't we just feed it other fish?" he joked with a sadistic grin.

At that statement, Manami halted in her steps – resultantly, he also had to stop to see what had gotten into her and only found her with a haunted expression; like the very thought of fish cannibalism itself came to her just then and absolutely horrified the girl. If he were to make assumptions, it seemed that whatever thought she might've had at the time must've been a brutal scene. Seeing his mistake, and that he had scarred her for life, he patted her head "…Kidding."

It took a few more reassurances before he got her to finally heave a sigh of relief and start walking together again – which in truth was exhausting for him in its own way for he had to treat her like what most would do when you'd try to persuade a five year old into believing the dark isn't scary.

They were back to having a regular conversation as they headed back to the station; fortunately enough, the hour was late, so they'd expect less people to be hindrances to them – the only so-called downside would be that the trains would take longer than when in broad daylight.

Just as they were about to exit the area fully, another pair of girls wearing Yukatas passed them by – normally they wouldn't have paid mind to them, however one of them had stopped in her tracks and turned around "Manami-chan?"

This had caused both of them to turn around simultaneously with the same type of inquisitive expressions. Their eyes were met with a raven-haired girl whose long dark locks were tied into a traditional chinese-style bun with the chopsticks sticking out of it as she let a few shorter strands down in a carefree-like way by the sides of her head. This girl had dark green eyes and a mole placed on her peach-toned skin right about on her neck area – but that was about all they could take in before she jogged over to the chemistry geek with ecstasy and a gasp while she grabbed the smaller girl's hands "It's really Manami-chan! It's been so long!"

Karma, being a little perplexed by the situation, turned to his poison-loving friend for answers and found her with astonishment written all over her features as she tried to let the events sink in before she uttered "M-Meiko…-san?"

"Hahh! It really is you!" the girl named Meiko jumped up and down with the bespectacled girl's hands still in hers and a happy-go-lucky aura as she genuinely looked amazed to find her in such a place "What are you doing here? How long has it been? Five years? Six? Your hair's grown really long! You're wearing braids until now? And when did you get glasses too? Are you still good at science? I'm sure you got better! Ooh! There's so much I want to talk to you about! And…"

As the jolly girl rambled on, the redhead took note of a few things about this girl – like how there was a scar just by the side of her head hidden by the bangs and another, much deeper one just on her arm peeking out of the sleeves of her Yukata. After he had professed this, he proceeded to look to his companion; only to have mercury eyes met with what appeared to be glossless eyes as her earlier shocked expression had not softened since they encountered the girl – even with the positive vibes this Meiko character obviously gave out, Manami only kept her eyes shrunk underneath the pieces of glass and could not bring herself to say anything back to this old friend of hers; and what one would normally want to consider as an ebullient reunion between two long-time friends had not been so due to this.

Karma narrowed his eyes.

_'What's with that face?'_

* * *

"Hey, Rio-chan."

"What?"

"It's been hours, and we haven't decided on anything."

"And?"

Yuzuki clicked her tongue before slamming her hand on the work desk and using the other to point accusatorily at the cheeky blond lazily leaned on the side of the bed with her arms crossed and eyes closed as she had now become the epitome of boredom in the room. "It's because you keep rejecting our offers but not making suggestions of your own!"

By this time, their council member had departed from the house due to the late hour and other responsibilities she had to attend to. So now, those who remained were left to deal with their issue; but were not doing so good a job at it for all they were doing now was lying around the guest room as if there was no issue to begin with – save for the one who had been forced to work on their project.

Rio responded to this with a lazed tone as she had not even faced the girl properly and appeared to be trying to take a snooze but failing – she was practically the epitome of boredom at the moment for she had no spec of pleasure upon her features "Hehhh? Isn't that okay? The longer you could work with Sugino-kun."

The helmet-headed girl had always rued the day this trickster found out about this secret of hers – so at that, she clumsily fell off her rolling chair at the sudden electrical surge that traveled around her body with a "GAH!" and a loud thud for her landing.

With the desire to retort back, she quickly sprung to her feet in another attempt to lecture the girl albeit still a little flustered after that "H-hey! That's not what this is about! We have a club to save!"

At this, Rio's brows furrowed as she leaned forward as if in a pondering stance with her Indian sitting position – however, she kept her loafed expression and only frowned for she found this quite a drag as she groaned "Hmmm…but you really haven't given me anything that's caught my attention…" her voice was similar to that of a whiny child and as if to add up to that comparison, she flopped down to the floor on her side – arms still crossed just to show everyone how uninterested she was with everything.

And to follow this, Rinka – whom laid on the bed stomach-first with manga (that she was allowed to read) in her hands –supported the other light-haired girl on her statement with a blunt and monotonous "What she said."

Chiba on the other hand, only shrugged at her but had the same thoughts from his spot by the desk. And after hearing their opinions on this, Yuzuki heaved a sigh and gave them a mildly distressed look with the slump of her shoulders "I know that, but it's not easy to come up with something that big. Not even I found anything good in our suggestions." With a dismayed hum, she leaned herself on the wall by the door.

"Yeah, you even turned down Sugino-kun's" Rio commented with the wave of her finger to point out her…well, point.

Once again, the otaku had been brought into an agitated state for it was like something just sliced her back in her jerk forwards. And once more, a vein popped on her forehead as she looked down on the lazy blond "Look! I CAN CONTROL MY EMOTIONS **PERFECTLY** LIKE A **DECENT** PERSON! UNLIKE YO—"

"Fuwa-san –"

"AH!" it had to be a miraculous coincidence for those in the room for just as she was yelling her frustrations out, Sugino had opened the door – now, after Yuzuki had fallen to the floor to her utmost shock (and misfortune) the boy himself also let out a startled shout and jerked away from her.

"Ah! Eh—A-Are you okay?"

"PEACHY!" she immediately yelled back – clearly still flustered by the fast-paced events for she had practically peered at him when she said that.

Although she said this, Sugino was sure she wasn't at all what she said she was – but judging from the face she made and the loud, hostile exclamation, it would be best not to continue this strange sequence of events as he replied with sweat going down the side of his head "O-Okay…?"

On the carpeted floor where Yuzuki landed, the blond girl next to her sniggered slyly as she now had her palms to both sides of her cheeks and raised her eyebrows at her mockingly – much to the manga-lover's annoyance for she rolled her eyes at this.

Rinka kept a straight face on, but her eyes gleamed with absorption from the entertaining scene as her attention had been taken away from the manga "Things just got interesting…" she uttered to no one in particular – but Chiba, whom was the only one who heard this, still felt very disturbed by 'what turns her on' as an uncomfortable frown crept to his features. It wouldn't be surprising for him not to know that part of her, but now that he did, some of his views on her had changed to the point where he was beginning to rethink a lot of things.

Fed up with all of this (and in her own house too), once Yuzuki regained her composure, she got back on her feet with an irked expression as she grabbed her work partner's arm and began to pull him out the door for them to finally take things seriously and gather some good ideas – and they obviously can't do that when surrounded by them.

"Ah—Woah!" was the last thing he was able to say before the girl shut the door and pulled him to the kitchen area – which was a good call on her end for it was a well-lit and quiet place to be in so that they may focus on the matter at hand. The small fraction of the house was composed of a regular, round kitchen table surrounded by wooden dining chairs which was befitting for her western-style house. So after they had settled down and understood each other's actions, the brunette slumped down to the seat in front of him.

"Still though…we haven't thought of anything notable enough – I'm just not satisfied." She hummed out of dismay as she let her head rest on her knuckles with her elbow on the furniture and eyes filled with discontentment.

Sugino could only sigh and lean back on his chair with the rub of the back of his head "Yeah, neither am I. I normally wouldn't be this picky but my standards 've changed since last year."

"Mhm…" she nodded at this – she too had been the same since then; she never settled for anything less than great, which in itself was an advantage and disadvantage for such situations. Another exasperated sigh came from her as she sat back on the chair a little blithely "It's disappointing but the best option we got so far was using Omo-chan as a mascot and I'm not even sure if I'm still sane after considering it." There was no hint of a joke in her tone.

He gave an uncomfortable smile and another sweatdrop at her statement as his eyes moved to the side – still quite at the disbelief that they even thought of such a thing; true, it was the most extraordinary but not in a sense that would invite people. Rather, it'd do the opposite "I know what you mean. But…Senpai said it should be something that captures our identity. Something that'll be enough to define who we are – or something…" he brooded at the last two words with another exhausted sigh; still in the middle of a mind block.

Yuzuki had to nod in agreement and cross her arms "It's kind of hard when you think about it. I mean if you base it on what we do and each of our special skills, how are we supposed to find a base idea? I mean, what makes us who we are any…way…" she trailed off at her last word when she had suddenly come up with something brilliant – brilliant to the point that her distraught expression had been turned into one of divine enlightenment with the slow widening of her eyes that now glossed against the dining light with a boom of inspiration.

Sugino followed with this and almost made the exact same expression once he had gotten the same idea as she did – it was perfect. And almost in sync, they both slammed their hands on the table and pointed to each other with the most astonishing idea yet

"OH!"

* * *

Upon the bed of the Fuwa residence guest room, Hayami Rinka had narrowed eyes as she stared at their club's female trickster whom lied on the carpet stomach first looking pleased as she hummed and kicked her legs back and forth in contrast with how she had looked before the two artists left the room.

"Shouldn't you be outside with them?"

Rio replied without sparing her a glance and just went about with her internal celebrating "She really won't be able to gain ideas if she talks to us too much – and plus, she's still mad at me so that's a distraction in itself. I wanted her to leave us, that way she could focus more." She said this in a matter-of-fact tone but it had been laced with seriousness at the reveal of her true intentions for acting that way – that's a practical genius for you; but this impression vanished inside the sniper when she found another mischievous grin on her face "And I wouldn't wanna disturb the two of them~" at that moment it was like her eyes had turned into stars as she was at it again with her meddlesome plots.

Rinka eyed her in such a way anyone would give when they became thoroughly disappointed after having expectations from someone "What the heck? You gossip-loving pervert." It came out almost monotonously, but there was a sense of disapproval in it as she raised an eyebrow at this.

The blond clicked her tongue and mimicked her like an immature schoolboy "What the heck? Geisha Maniac." Not a second after that, the pigtailed girl's face flushed and had resulted to her dropping the book in her hands just to cover her red face – to which Rio only took enjoyment from as she persistently threw more geisha-related jokes knowing her secret obsession to it.

Meanwhile, Chiba had been in deep thought for quite a while now with his back still leaned on the wall in contemplation. After another few moments, he interjected the girl's small ridicule session "By the way."

"Hm?" both of them turned to the shabby-haired boy with question written all over their faces.

"Have you given the cultural fest much thought?" he tilted his head to the side a tad. Rio was the first to respond to this by sitting herself back on the carpet and leaned on her arms for support – her expression now serious as she gave it thought as well "Mm, I have. But there wasn't anything noteworthy that came to mind so I got stuck…"

Rinka decided to join in with this and sat down properly on the bed to contribute to the discussion. She furrowed her brows and went into a thinking position "Hm…for club-based cultural fests we have to showcase our club's products or fortes. Ours is combat club, but we have our own special abilities. It's a little challenging since we have no specific component that we all follow due to our specialties."

Rio nodded and appeared to be in quite the depth of her thoughts for she had her brows scrunched up together "Mhm. There's that issue of how we're going to put it all to use. How do we come up with something big enough to forever save us from disbandment by showing off our skills just like that?"

All three hummed as they pondered on whatever ideas came up – it wasn't hard to get an idea, but now that they were really picky and had a new standard for work, it was a challenge to themselves to have anything at the top of their heads reach those proclaimed criterion.

That was when Rio spotted something on the only boy in the room's hand "Chiba, what's that?"

The boy in question took a moment before he got what she meant and lowered his head to the manga he held in his left hand "Oh, it's one of Fuwa's collection of touchable manga. The title's hide and seek."

At that moment, something popped up in the blond's head that made her expression light up the same way she didn't know Yuzuki's did for she too had just reached a divine enlightenment at the marvelous idea that came out of nowhere – oh bless such random ideas for existing. The very plan she had in mind had been enough to have her blue orbs widen and let her mouth fall agape.

At the same time, Rinka must've thought of something just as great for she too had come to have this kind of expression. And like the other two, the girls got up from their lazed positions and yelled to each other.

"OH!"

Chiba however, could only stare at them wondering if they had gone insane all of a sudden.

* * *

It was quiet in the Hashimoto station's waiting area.

Only the subtle cries of summer cicadas were able to echo through the cemented walls of this no-longer busy station for only two had remained at this specific line. The hour wasn't so late, but since Hashimoto wasn't really a place notable for much, naturally there'd be a big difference to the amount of people that visit the fraction compared to that of other more notable parts of Tokyo (e.g Shibuya).

Manami and Karma enveloped themselves in the evening silence of the quiet area as they rested themselves on a wooden bench and waited for their train to arrive. One wouldn't really consider this as a comforting quietude, but neither was it very bothersome for either of them since they'd just gone through something the redheaded one didn't quite get a firm grip on.

Then, he spoke "So…Are you going to tell me who she was?" he stretched back and laid himself comfortably on the bench, carefree as usual.

The bespectacled girl took a moment to respond for her shoulders had tensed up slightly and kept her half-lidded gaze onto the rails where their train would soon pass by "…If I were to tell you…she's someone I owe a lot to…" this came out quietly and from her voice, a not so pleasant memory. Taking his silence as a sign that he would like to hear more, she sighed and decided it would not be too bad to let him know who she was. After a mild hesitation and a few moments to gather her words, she started "Er…Watanabe Meiko-san. She lived next to me before she moved away to this place…"

With another breath, she turned her head up and let the night sky reflect on her spectacles "We went to the same primary and elementary school together, but she moved away in the middle of our elementary years so she had to transfer. I guess…you can say that she's the longest friend I've had…even if we became distant after she moved." The tone she used had a sense of bittersweetness in them – like this girl was not just a distant friend, and this is what Karma suspected.

"So? What made you look at her that way?" his peripheral sight caught her turning to him with slight confusion – to which he responded to by moving his eyes to her side for a brief second before turning them up to the fluorescent lamp that had moths fly about it "It's the same face you make when you're guilty."

In truth, she was aware that all she had done at the time was look at her childhood friend with nothing but remorse. And at the same time, a significant brunette that reminded her of a bad memory in the beginning of her high school year resurfaced just by seeing the green-orbed girl again – this long-time-not-been-seen brunette who had gone by the initials M.E still had not left her traumatic experience "Mm…are you willing to listen? It's a little long…"

Karma saw the grief she held for such a topic, but letting some of his selfish curiosity get the best of him, he gave her a nod and a heartening smile – just to assure her that whatever it was, he'd listen.

Manami took a deep breath and somewhat stiffened in her seat. Suddenly, the supposed hot summer breeze had been replaced with a cold air that made her fingers harden around each other while intertwined – her heart felt heavy just by discussing this; but she had concluded this would not be a bad time to finally let it out, and it was Karma too, so she'd feel comfortable in a way.

"In our first year of elementary school…Meiko-san got into a fight with a few boys because she retaliated to their arrogant belittlement of the girls in that school." Flashing in her mind were the dim halls of a small building supposedly made a bright, happy place for children to be educated – but all she could remember from it were bad experiences that had her mind view it as a sullen place. And after that, as if like a movie frame the scene flipped to a group of tall and scary older students that looked down on everyone weaker than they were – she perceived them to be silhouettes that only had evil, red glints in their eyes that would haunt a child's nightmares.

Her frown only stretched more when she continued "When I heard about it…I became so…so afraid of losing her that I ran over there to help but…" another memory came – the blurred sight of the braver raven-haired girl's form standing in front of the scary group with her mouth agape once she had seen her come to the scene "It didn't go well…and I only made things worse for her. I did nothing but fall to the floor and cry…too afraid to move…and too clueless about everything to think of anything to do. So when they charged for me…" Manami felt a sting in her chest that became evident when she scrunched her eyebrows together as if she just flinched from the pain after another memory came up. Blood red…trickling down Watanabe Meiko's arm and head after she had gotten hit with tools she could not bring herself to remember – because all she had her mind to at the time was how useless she had been at the time that she had caused such injuries to scathe her beloved friend "Meiko-san protected me…but she paid a price…" she thought back to the scars she still saw never faded away even after all these years at her encounter with the female not too long ago.

Her shoulders were now almost in level with her ears as her head only lowered more from the pang of pain at that memory – just remembering it had caused her to revert to a phase just this year, and to talk about it was a struggle in itself, so hiding the anguish was a bit of a distant for her. But she refused to cry about it for some reason.

Karma took moments of silence to think about her words. Since they had come here, he'd found out much about the petite girl – the one he thought he understood most and whom he thought he was closest to compared to everyone in their club or anyone he knew of the opposite sex. But after hearing all this and recalling everything from today, he knew he was still a ways to go and had lots of things he still didn't know about her. But then he realized…

_'I never really did know anything about you…did I?'_

"Up until now…" her unexpected statement cut him from his thoughts and caused him to turn back to her – now sitting properly. She was now a little more relaxed as opposed to how she had just been not a minute ago; her distant eyes were trained on the starlit sky with an uncertainty she only wishes to be answered one day knowing it won't as she continued to let her memories flow through her head.

"I had no idea how Meiko-san felt about it. I…" her hand now shivered as she grabbed onto her wrist "I hopelessly couldn't understand how she felt about it." She exhaled to let out a heavy feeling that formed inside of her before she carried on with her next statement in a more relaxed manner – but it still had quite the weight to it "That's when I had a thought…it's easier to handle things that were technical like math or science…than to deal with fussy emotions that I found too hard to comprehend." She blinked for a second as she recalled her resolution that day – that she would give up on trying to understand what a person felt because it was too much for her. Then she lowered her gaze again "And at the same time…I got so scared of hurting people, that I stayed away from them."

Unexpectedly, a smile came when she thought about the present time and of the recent events that brought good memories with them "It became different in Class E. That's why I'm always so grateful for the fact I ended up there. I was able to be myself because everyone had their own failures to go by…it was horrible of me to think it, but it relieved me to know that I wasn't the only one with a problem…And then…" the flashed back to the time she had been cornered by Mikami Erina and the scary expressions she gave her "When it came back this year…it was you…and the others of class E that brought me together again, even though I've broken real bad all over again…you were still able to do the magic on me." Her tender smile never wavered as she said these words, and neither did it for the next when she turned to him "So for that, I'll forever be grateful."

Karma only stared back for a while and pondered on everything she said. But truth be told, he'd heard this 'thanks' from her too many times already that he began to think he'd been spoiling her too much – but this thought was not as strong as the revelation he had that he really did know nothing about her or what she'd gone through until he was given the hints today. Other than that, what surprised him was the sense of nostalgia that formed when she told him her story.

"Okuda-san"

"Hm?"

"If you don't mind telling me more about it…how did you solve the problem with her?" she was given a look of question from him that made it look like this was something he really needed to have cleared up – quite taken aback by such a face, she had to take a moment to remember "Ah…er…"

In the depths of her memory, she could remember how those scary silhouettes moved their attention to something else – shorter than all of them by several inches, but it kept them all busy as she only bawled at her injured friend.

"Ah. A boy came and stopped the fight with his own hands. I couldn't see what he looked like, and I don't think I'll be able to remember considering the state I was in back then but…all I know is he saved Meiko-san and I from becoming too battered up. But even after he did such a good thing he got suspended along with them for becoming too violent…" she brooded over the last sentence once more before she faced the sky again with eyes filled with a yearning that was yet to be eased "But I remember something…I don't think I'll be able to forget this, because right on the day he got suspended…" she brought her hands to her twin braids and held the ends like they were a dear thing to her "He took the time to return my pigtails to me when they fell loose from being attacked…" she could still recall how much it hurt when they pulled on her braids after she had done nothing but whine "From then on, I've worn the same ones…even if I don't remember him or his face…I couldn't bring myself to wear anything else because…"

That was when Karma's memory acted up and had a shock go through his body that resultantly made his eyes grow a little wide for he too had a memory resurface – which in all honesty he didn't know he had it until she started talking about it. Slowly, he turned to her and fixed his eyes on the ties around her hair; and that was when he became sure of it.

_Akabane Karma was a transfer student – and the only transfer student in the history of elementary schools that got suspended on the day he did. _

_But it wasn't the only school that kicked him out for his problematic attitude and issues with violence; heck, that was the reason he transferred in the first place. _

_And as he was being escorted out of his supposedly new school (not anymore), he caught notice of the two he just defended with eyes that outwardly expressed indifference for he was not at all brought to a let-down for being suspended._

_One of them bawled loudly – like a baby as she held onto the back of the taller one's shirt. "UWAAAAHHH!" _

_He couldn't bring himself not to notice this because of its loud volume, so after that, he took a few seconds to observe what was happening – not even telling his escort to wait as he just strayed away from him._

_"C'mon, stop crying." _

_"B-BUT! I-IT WAS MY FAULT YOU GOT HURT!" the girl who cried loudly had her hair in tangles and just a downright mess – so he assumed that she was the owner of the hairties he found on the floor just when he was about to leave the building forever. _

_Without any second thoughts or sensitivity and the whatnot, he approached the both of them "Oi."_

_He didn't take much notice of what they did after he rudely called out to them for he only grabbed the crying girl's arm and put the hair ties in his palm in her hands in a bit of a forceful manner albeit her crying state. All she reacted with was a confused look for it had all been so sudden – and there's the fact she didn't really know who he was._

_After he had given them to her, he retracted his hand and looked down at her short form and bluntly stated "Don't cry. You look ugly."_

_She only stared at him stupidly for a few seconds after that, but after those said seconds she just started bawling again, but louder – to which he reacted to with a raised eyebrow and a scoff when he saw this girl as such a drag to be with. He didn't say another word to her and walked away from the scene uncaringly._

"…because…" he'd been snapped back to reality when the sound of her voice reached his ears. But when he turned to the braided girl – it was as if he saw the same one he gave the hair accessories to from that time inside of her for a while. It was like his mind played tricks on him as it flashed from time to time and shifted from the current Okuda and the one from back then.

"…I never got to thank him…"

All the while, Karma had been stuck to deal with his thoughts on this.

_'Her history is something I'm far from understanding. And because of that…she felt distant for a while there. There are a lot of things in this person's past that I don't know about…and I'm not sure if I can merely guess them. But…_

_Why is it when I realized I was part of it…'_

_Badump_

All of a sudden, Karma placed his hands on his face and rested his elbows upon his knees – resultantly confusing Manami and leaving her to wonder if she had done anything for him to make such an abrupt action "K-Karma-kun! I-Is something wrong?!"

"No…it's just…" through the holes given by his fingers even as he covered his face, a deep red tint could be seen along with mercury orbs and furrowed brows that displayed his struggle to keep it down – but no matter what he did, it remained. Fortunately enough, the area was dark and the girl had not inspected his face, for now. So to hide this flush of his, he forced out a laughter, but kept himself hidden with the aid of his hair and hands.

"I'm sure such a person…is sick of hearing thank you."

* * *

**WELP. I packed you up with a bunch of moments! By the way if it's not too much trouble, can you tell me which Karmana moments you liked the most and/or what you think of them? That way I can gather some more inspiration and it'll make me feel motivated because YAY~ I worked hard on that scene! Only if it's not too much trouble though! You don't really have to but it helps!**

**So...shame on me for taking that prompt on them meeting back in elementary school or what? 8"D**

**HAHA it was one of the first things that came in mind before this story even started XDD**

**But if you don't like it gomene ;w;**

**ALRIGHT! LONG READ IS LONG READ! And as excited I am to write the next chapter, I hope you will be too because next is end-of-arc which I fear could be just as long as this or longer. And of course, lots of Karmana (in my perspective)**

**BUT I CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO SEPARATE THE SCENES TTWTT**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW FOR LOVE, SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION!**

**Thanks for reading and 'til next update!**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yeah well uhm *clears throat* Remember what I said about this chapter being the end of arc? Well uh...**

**I LIED. LOL**

**Okay I didn't actually lie since I thought I could fit it all to one chapter but turns out I could not so expect the real end to be in the next one! And this time for SURE it's the next one. **

**SO I'm back again - I honestly took too long with this one, and I really feel like this is an off chapter for me. BUT I like to consider it an important part to the story even with its lack of *SQUEAL* moments for all you readers so yeah there's that warning ;w;**

**Next of course O.M.G WOW LONG REVIEWS! I FEEL LIKE I DON'T REALLY DESERVE IT BUT THANKS SO MUCH! They all mean a lot to me ;;w;; **

**Oh a warning before the chapter: _KAYANO SPOILER IS HERE!_  
**

**Ok let's get to those replies lol XD:  
**

**But I will first address a general reply since you ALL Seemed to like the Manaka part so THANK YOU LOVELIES FOR SAYING THAT! as Rio thought, bless such random ideas for existing XD I was actually eating fish when I thought about it LOL XD **

**Ace Clover: WOW LONG! Thanks! Hm, about your guess...hihi you'll only find out when we get there *w* And I VERY much appreciate how you took the time to tell me how you felt about those specific moments! It makes me feel proud of myself and I can see the Karmana feels qwp And about your questions on Asano and everyone well I'm not sure I'll make it such a big deal where the five virtuosos go to school to let alone mention it since they're not that big of a part. But hey I can be sure other 3-E students will appear! Don't you worry! OMG Chiba, Idk really XD 'make a move on her' yes yes he shoul- *shot by both snipers* Well yeah I hope you like Meiko-san ^w^ And whether she is a good friend or an antagonist, you'll have to wait and see ;D And yes it will be CF arc next and you'll only find out other stuff by then. Blushing delinquents make me happy. TwT Thanks for complimenting on the writing too 8") It really warms my heart ;-; And your grammar's fine enough! Don't worry! ^w^**

**Left-to-die: WHOA LONG! I appreciate your effort VERY much! I'll try my best to improve on my writing because of this 8") I'm REALLY Thankful for how you gave your opinion on the story and how I applied the characters to it. It really helps and motivates me. Actually in all honesty, I wouldn't have been able to characterize them well enough until I was sure about their personalities due to the reviews ^_^ So all of what you said, really REALLY brings joy to me. I try to make everything matter like those two things XD Well you know, try. The Fuwa crush thing came out of nowhere and yet people are beginning to like it so this brings me at ease ;w; Oh and on that comment you have on my writing, I'm glad you've come to accustom yourself with it and I'm sorry if it really put you off X'3 And yes I am sadly aware I have mistakes but eh...so little time so much to write TT-TT Another thank you for pointing out those parts you liked about the chapter - they give me a nice feeling really and assure me that the scene wasn't something that put people off, but that's just me overthinking lol XD And I'm happy to read about how much you enjoy reading the characters! And all of those mysteries will be revealed when revealed ;D **

**animeandmangafangirl: HEY! LONG TIME! Hope you're doing well in life, I heard you're pretty hectic now, right? But even so thanks for leaving a review again ^W^ HAHA EXPECT MORE ASANO SOME OTHER TIME WHEN I SEE IT FIT. Omg fangirl screams call a medic. Now. Babysitter? No you need a doctor-*shot by you* KIDDING! Good luck with Karma has a What?! ! And I hope you enjoy this one!**

**FreeWeirdGal: Wait, what? So this _isn't_ a shameless romance with shoujo shit? THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS XDD OMG YOU DONT KNOW HOW HAPPY I WAS READING THAT XD So thank you very much. I was brought to tears when you mentioned thinking this was a straight from Japan thing ;w;**

**Mugipyon: OH! LONG TIME NO SEE/READ! Hope you're enjoying life at the moment since it looks like you're pretty busy o.o That being said, thanks for taking the time to review even in CLASS (bad mugi. bad. LOLJK XD)Oh! You don't have to apologize at all! I visited your DA a bunch of times! If you don't mind, can you show me some of your drawings of this beautiful ship or the ones you based off my story? It's okay if you don't but I really wanna see how you saw them since you're good at drawing and it's nice to see what you write come to view in drawing form ^w^ And I wish you a good day!**

**TheRoseShadow21: YO! Another review from you? Thanks very much! I'm not sure where the idea of them in elementary school came to in the first place and I found it really cliche but I STILL went with it for reasons 8"D Ooohh! Thanks for telling me what it means...now I can think about how Manaka is the center of their relationship-*shot* WE'LL GET THERE WHEN WE GET THERE! (I do hope we get there). And YES I have watched Nagi no Asukara and have been hit many times by the torpedo of feel because of it. And oh you'll find out what the logo is soon ;D Oh a oneshot? Do post it so I can find it and get reading! I love your stories and how you write, after all! Lol I'm glad me writing long chapters makes you feel good. *SLAPS BACK* Welcome to the club! XD **

**Title Unwanted: Thank you! And Aw I honestly thought that part was cliche on my part and very overused, but I'm pleased to hear you like it! Hope you enjoy this one!**

**kawaiichoconeko: NEKO-CHAN AGAIN! Thanks you as always~! Ohhh! Your Lie In April (#TimeToCry) Again, I'm very happy how you take the time to point out the things you really like in each chapter! I feel so warm inside and it makes me feel like it was worth it ;w; And Hanako is a character I actually look forward to letting you all know about...hehe we'll get there XD HAHA THAT HAIR TOUCHING PART! Actually, in all honesty I wondered what it felt like recently...Manami is a lucky girl indeed. And I'm thankful for how you take notice of her development and how it's slow but there ;w; and no YOU'RE the treasure here so yeah ^w^ Please enjoy this!**

**Sweetmoegirl: HELLO AGAIN! Sorry I'm not able to send you drawings! MY PRINTER BROKE AIN'T THAT WONDERFUL? X""D Thank you very much for telling me your favorite parts of the chapter even though that was so dora of me XD From Karmana to Manaka. All because of a fish LOL. Oh sunsets...I admire them in real life really X'3 And yes you will soon find out about her past. But not today ;D HAHA ERINA WILL RETURN 8D And I hope you enjoy! EVen though there's barely any Karmana for the chappie since it'll be in the next one. **

**eastfall: As always, your reviews are what I look forward to all the time X'3 REALLY MAN THEY HELP A LOT! And thanks for pointing that flaw out! (I can no longer live in shame now XD) And yes I agree that the prompt is cliche but reluctant as I was to use it, your same thoughts came to mind XD Now from such a cliche thing, I was able to think up a few things for the next chapters! And I hope I dont disappoint when they get to the logo and the CF! Oh and on your bit of Comabt Club Meanwhile...I got into a jumpy happiness episode because of it X'3 Again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I tried my utmost (I guess) for that chapter and Im very happy to hear that you enjoyed it a lot! Like the sunset scene I found beautiful too to be honest. Haha I really enjoyed writing Asano by the way even though he was there as a cameo and nothing more. Now I'm thinking about getting him in for a chapter just to appease myself XD **

**KisaragiMaru: Thanks for reviewing! Kind of been a while since I've seen you XD And yeah those two smartasses actually made it to this fic lol XD **

**Quilla The Silent: That hair touching part will always made me laugh whenever I looked at it XD And you'll only find out by reading more~! ^w^ Hope you like this next one!**

**I12Bfree: Thank you VERY much for pointing those out! I feel proud for being able to write it ;w; So I'm glad you liked those scenes! LOL that geisha part XD Thanks for the review!**

**Akatsuki-Metal: Thank you for leaving another review! I'll do my best and I'll try hard!**

**Akabane-san: Hey there~! I KNOW THEY ARE ADORABLE TOGETHER! I just wanna...put them inside a bottle and shake it like Patrick did Squidward...LOL XD Never mind it's like 3 am here sorry XD YEs thank you! Please try to enjoy this one even when there's not much Karmana! YES I WILL DO MY BEST!**

**WHEW! I made this longer than it should be already. Again, KAYANO SPOILER IS HERE but it's not that big so don't really mind it...I guess...yeah. **

**ANYWAY! Get ready for barely any karmanami chapter I guess? Oh well, let's just wait til end of arc for things XD**

**Disclaimer: Friends, I am 15. You think I can own a big franchise at my age? No, point made.**

**ON WITH THE SHAMELESS CHAPTER~ **

* * *

**Chapter 14: If I Were To Tell You…(Part 2: Something Precious) **

_After last year, the entire world looked monochrome to me._

_ I couldn't find enjoyment in anything else – I would find a few things fun, but absolutely nothing could compare to what had happened to me in the span of a year. The feeling of an emptiness that could not be filled by anything lingered about inside of me. While everyone else tried their best to move on and deal with their lives, I see through them – they long for it. That escape from normalcy; when it will come again, no one knows – in fact, it may never even come again. I find it pitiful how they try to distract themselves with their mundane lifestyles and only keep the lessons they've learned from the previous year in their hearts; I should be doing that myself, but the motivation and willpower to do anything in the norm had dissipated. Nothing piques my interest anymore, in this black and white world I now live in. _

_But when I saw her succumbing to it and seeing things the same way I have been – something rose inside of me. I didn't like seeing that, another me – with eyes that saw the world without love or color under grey skies; someone that didn't care about what would happen to her – or to anyone for that matter – with a heart that would be a challenge for anyone to pry into. My previous classmates are the closest thing I've got to that duration of my life; I wouldn't want any of them to forget about the things we've gone through together. So at the very least, she has to continue being the way she was – she can't stop caring about the world. I won't allow it; even though I have almost reached that point. Especially if it's her – one that did not hesitate to open her heart to people even if she was unsure of herself, someone that can remain kind and see others in a brighter light in the midst of her loss in the darkness of her own shell. So at the very least, I can bring myself to stop that from happening. I won't let you stop caring, Okuda-san – I don't want you to turn out to be in this miserable dilemma I've drowned myself into. However, I say this not for your sake, but for mine. Forgive me, but I don't want you to change like everyone else. In truth, I was happy to have encountered you in the same school – but to see how you've changed and certainly not for the better, I had to do something; something to get that you of last year back and ease myself of the worry that you might end up becoming someone I didn't recognize. Nakamura and everyone else has been focusing on their futures and are slowly moving on, with only that year of such extraordinary times left as a sweet memory that they will forever hold dear. Not for me though; ever since then, time had stopped right in front of me, while everyone else was moving forward, I couldn't bring myself to leave it all behind. To go back to beating up cheap delinquents no match for any of the assassins I've seen in that one year, to have regular teachers that are nowhere near my standard for interest, students all around me that can't even match up to those who studied back at that demonic discrimination-driven Academy I spent three years in. So you, at the very least, can't change that way. I'll be okay if time stops, but don't turn into someone I no longer know._

_ If you want, we can both just get stuck in time together – we can forget about moving forward; with you, I'm sure I won't mind. I've never had someone like you. And I don't want that to go away with the year. So at the very least, please stay the same way. Right now, the silly club I made and you most especially are the most interesting things I can get myself to get up and go to school for. Again, it's just for me, and I apologize if what I want is not what you want. But…to feel so devastatingly hollow inside and to not find anything worth time anymore…_

_I just want something that can fill that hole up.  
_

* * *

_Beep Beep Beep_

Within a usually empty home where only one resided, the soft beeps of an alarm clock had a redheaded boy come to from his tranquil slumber. Rays of morning sunshine seeped in through the lowered blinds and painted the room with lines of bright gold that served as the only source of light in the dim room – some of which had landed upon a pair of drowsy mercury orbs that had revealed themselves ever so slightly. Red locks were a mess atop a white pillow that suffered under his weight as some of the cotton sunk down; and the mischievous boy woke up to the same organized room he did every day.

He didn't take too much time getting up – it only took a few ruffles of the bed sheets and quite the lazy effort to bring himself up to head out of his room and proceed with his daily morning routine; brush his teeth, serve his own breakfast, etcetera. Occasionally, he would take a glimpse of his cellphone to see if he had gotten messages from Nagisa and the others he were to see on that same day; thus explains the rather early hour he had chosen to awake which was about 7:45. But since it was summer, the days came longer than nights so naturally, the sun – though still at the far-east – glowed at a strong force that led to a number of people awakening to.

Just half an hour later, he was up and about – ready to face another day after he had put on a casual white buttoned, short-sleeved shirt with a long sleeved dark-blue undershirt that went with the simplicity of a black pair of jeans; perfect for easy movement and his laid-back attitude.

In the silence of his quite spacious home, he found himself with his eyes trained on the new addition to this house that sat on the kitchen counter inside of its relatively new, rectangular containment. He was still beginning to adjust to the fact that he was no longer the only one he had to feed under the same roof for it hadn't even been a week since this creature came – and all thanks to an introverted girl he knew next to nothing about.

For reasons he was unsure of, the sea animal had taken a considerable amount of his time just with him staring at it even while he was about to leave – a hand inserted to one pocket where he paid consciousness to his phone while the other would relax itself on his side from his position just a meter before the front door of his house.

_'Manaka as in…Manami and Karma…'_

He made it a point to feed it before heading out.

* * *

The streets were only beginning to become busy and the air was cool enough to be considered a morning breeze albeit it being the hottest time of the season once he started walking – arms stretched back to his head as he released a yawn and pretty much lived up to his reputation as a lazy delinquent with his gestures in the duration of his slow-paced trip. From what glossless, pale-gold eyes could take in, the blue in the sky left a much more energetic impression and had cotton-ball like clouds pleasantly arrayed freely as some of which would float with the wind.

To the ground where he was, on sidewalks here and there people already started to attend to their everyday responsibilities and customs. Nearby restaurants and pubs flipped their signs as some would either bring in a new chalkboard menu to renew or bring one out for another day of service. Eyes travelling to where the sound of chirping birds came, he was able to distinguish a nest upon one of the green trees that were lined on his side of the pavement and all the while, he had also been able to heed notice of a cat that stretched itself with its claws to the bark of the bottom of the same tree.

Although he had taken the time to take these observations to mind – he found all of them dull and didn't let his thoughts linger upon such for it was these trivial things he couldn't really stand; much unlike a raven-haired girl that came to mind after this. In contrast with how he considered most things to be unworthy of his time or attention, this particular person that invaded his mind at such an early hour surely saw such things under a different light – defined deeply and given significant meaning in her eyes; as opposed to he, whom didn't spare a second thought for things so mundane.

Speaking of which, there she was now by a set of trash cans outside of her apartment complex. She was wearing a spearmint-toned summer dress; sleeves were short but thick as they appeared to give the girl more freedom to move since it looked more comfortable compared to most of her civilian clothing – and around the waist area there was an evident ruffle of the clothing that came from the long, thin ribbon tied behind her with its tails nearly as long as the dress itself whose length caressed her knees. Did she always like wearing dresses? This is certainly the first time he'd seen her done so – then again, he was still a tad bit bothered by the fact he was unsure of many things about her so he just brought this random muse to the back of his mind.

It shouldn't surprise him how she was already up at this time – that was what made her live up to the mature-like personality he had allowed to get close to him; well, that was what he thought 'close' was.

"Oh, good morning Karma-kun." She presented him with a hearty smile – she must've been awake long before he was for such an active vibe to emanate from her. Finding this pleasant, he acknowledged this with an informal salute and relaxed smile "Morning."

_This is the girl I don't know how I feel about._

"You're up early today." She voiced out this observation with her hands holding onto a single garbage bag that she was to take care of but had been sidetracked by her encounter with her redheaded friend.

"I've been invited by Nagisa-kun to go to some museum or whatnot to hang out." He replied and let his stretched arms rest to the sides to place his hands inside his pockets.

"Oh, is Kayano-san going with you?"

"Yeah, so are Isogai and Maehara."

"Oh, have fun then." She displayed him another grin and was about to carry on with the task she came out here for before she had been interrupted by a quizzical look from her friend "I heard there were others hanging out today from Nakamura. You're not going?"

She reacted with mild surprise to his question for a sound had come from her and her head sharply turned upwards to meet his eyes. "Eh—Well, I planned summer cleaning with Inari-nee today so I had to turn them down." She didn't appear to be disappointed by this fact, but she didn't look ecstatic over it either and just replied with another smile that gave out her sense of responsibility prior to leisure.

In understanding, he nodded "I see, then—"

"Manami! Where did you put the—Oh, it's you." Both teenagers turned their heads up to the overfamiliar woman that leaned her upper body out of the fence located on the balcony of their floor with the support of her elbows on the surface – a rug in hand as well as a spray in the other. She was in full-clad white pajamas that honestly fit her despite her age and a bandana over her maroon-crown that showed the boy how she was contributing to this cleaning session of theirs. Her voice was loud enough to be heard by anyone on the ground two floors below her, but the tone seemed to have changed once she saw the scarlet locks of her least favorite kid.

"Inari-nee." Manami acknowledged her rather enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Karma just found himself a morning treat – oh how he enjoyed messing with this person whenever she came up; just thinking about it already gave him the first cheeky grin of the day.

The older girl took notice of this and narrowed her eyes "Hm? What are you cockily smirking for?"

This was a fortunate day for him – she was the one who initiated her early-morning ridicule which made things more enjoyable. Smirk not faltering, he came back with a childish tone "Oh nothing, I just thought that even in the broad morning daylight you still look old to me."

She should be used to this – in fact she was starting to get the hang of it, but that didn't stop a vein from popping on her head "You don't run out of things to say, do you?"

Karma cocked his head to the side yet still faced upwards with a cunning grin "In any case, what's with that get-up?"

"What? You have a problem with that too?"

"No." Whatever sly expression he made remained just as he paused for while so that his next words may have an effect he would very much enjoy watching before he bluntly stated "Your bra strap's showing."

Immediately, Inari had been struck with shock that was unmistakable from the widening of her eyes – she only noticed now how her top was big enough to slide down her shoulder and reveal a black line. In her adrenaline rush, she exaggerated in her fixing by pulling the cloth too much to even hide her collar; blue lines appeared to have travelled down the upper half of her head as it even took on a dark-ish hue just to express her utter discomfort and disgust as she came to an agitated state "What the hell?! You perv—"

"Oh, How embarrassing~" the voice he used was loud enough for those even walking across the street to hear. He looked even more irksome to her now that his head lowered to have a somewhat shadow effect upon his eyes that turned up to her at the widening of his evil smirk. She didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but when she looked over to the other parts of the street – the sour stares of those who walked by and the distaste evident upon mothers as they pulled their children away and averted their eyes. That was when her anger dropped and had been replaced with absolute embarrassment for she even had to stop herself from hitting her head on the ledge – he practically saved her from a far worse mortification had he not pointed it out, but now that he did, she wasn't sure whether to thank him or to throw the spray can at his stupid, demonic face right now.

Inari clenched her teeth and decided to save her any more conflict (and humiliation) so early in the morning and turned a heel "Manami! Go inside when you're through and help me look for the remote!" without another word, she stormed inside – what they didn't know is that once she did she started pounding the sofa with an old baseball bat to relieve her furiousness.

"Oh, woops!" the dark-haired girl came to her senses; because all the while, the only thing she had done was shift her head to each of them whenever they came back at each other with a 'these two are hopeless' kind of expression – for she too had gotten quite used to this.

"Sorry Karma-kun, I have to cut this short." She bowed her head a tad and prepared to leave – the edge of her dress flying with her as she skipped with the help of the wind that just passed by. "Have fun!" she waved and was about to step onto the fire escape's stairs.

"Okuda-san." The sudden call of her name caused her to stumble a bit in the midst of her haste. A little far from recovering from a startled state, she turned her head back to him inquisitively "Hm? What is it?"

With the turn of her head, the braids flew – and that was where his eyes were focused on at the moment; but more specifically, he had his gaze on the white pieces of rubber that wrapped themselves around raven hair at the ends of constantly neat braids as they elegantly floated with the breeze. And for moments, that was all he did – heck, he wasn't really sure why he called to her all of a sudden. But after a second more of staring at it…

"No, never mind."

Karma turned a heel and stretched his arms up again to put-up a carefree behavior and prepared himself to leave "Good luck with cleaning." It came out lazily as he waved a goodbye but didn't spare another glance at her the farther he went.

"Ah, thank you!" he could tell she smiled brightly from the way she exclaimed it before he heard the light footsteps of a nearly featherweighted girl clank on the metal escape.

And that's when his eyes fell downcast.

_'Again with the thank you, huh?'_

* * *

It was quiet in the train albeit it filled with folks off to whatever business they have – so as a result, Karma had been left to deal with his own thoughts whilst he stood up with a hand on the suspended grip. The view was fairly pleasing to the eyes; a bright, azure sky that looked so close you could almost touch it for it had covered the town in its blue and white glory – heck you could compare it to painting for it seemed far too alluring for it to be real. And not only that, he had a sight of the sun still in the midst of rising up with its bright yellowish rays passing through the windows of the car and drowning those inside with a sense of warmth.

This wasn't the first time he had seen a sight this good, and this could hardly compare to all the others he had seen…

Especially the ones with her.

A sunset that reflected its light on the water as if it was by the work of creatures of a magical world, an isolated clearing by the creek of a radiant forest done by the natural beauties of nature under a starlit sky with a brightly shining crescent moon…

And in this same train, wherein they watched houses, trees and the like under the bright daylight – something he paid no such awe for, but what was kept in his memory was the picture of those almost empty, longing eyes when he touched on something he should not have – along with this, he was introduced to a new resolution; that he knew next to nothing of the girl he had considered he was closest to out of everyone he or she knew. But what was still most fresh was the starlit sky in a dark station where the only light provided came from a fluorescent lamp that attracted moths and the like – not a very 'beautiful' scene but what happened in it was what made him travel back to it.

Just when he caught himself with that same girl in his mind for third time that day, the grip he had on the handle tightened with the scrunching of his brows out of a rising set of emotions he quickly pushed down and got rid of – one of which was frustration.

_The girl I don't want to know how I feel about._

And the train stopped.

* * *

"Oh! Karma!"

"Long time!"

"Ossu." Karma saluted to the two boys waiting by the entrance gates of the National Museum of Nature and Science. From the looks of it, it seems that the two pigtailed characters of this meet-up failed to meet them on time since only Isogai and Maehara were present. The former had on a regular blue t-shirt and some brown pants – it was his usual, simple get-up; perfect for his character that captured his simplicity and humbleness whilst the latter had on a checkered red and black polo shirt and frankly nearly the same color of pants as his long-time best friend.

Once he had reached them, he had his hands back in his pockets casually before he mused "Nagisa-kun and Kayano-chan aren't here yet?"

"Nope. And she's Akari now, remember?" Isogai took the initiative to reply and even winked at his added note while placing his hands on his waist.

"And I heard the shorties started going steady." Although this was something to be happy about – with the way Maehara put it, the statement felt more like grim news due to the depressing tone and expression he had when he said that.

At this, the redhead smiled with mock innocence – because there was clearly mischief behind that tone. He could already picture what he could do to exploit the blue-haired boy now that this was in the air "Heh? That should be entertaining. But you seem crushed, Maehara." He smirked when he pointed this out and found a hint of enjoyment from the said boy's devastated reaction to this for it was as if his soul was just about to fly off of his body at his slouch forward.

The dark-haired boy smiled sarcastically – clearly he found his best friend's issue quite the drag to deal with as he answered for him "Oh, there was this girl that called him friend and now he's depressed over it." He said it in his usual active tone, but there was a tiny hint of exhaustion in it for he had been helping the boy with his problem for days.

"Hehh…" was the only thing that left Karma's lips after he heard that; at the same time his smile faded away as if he actually gave some concern regarding this. And through the short amount of time he paused in his statement, Maehara started to think he might actually be sympathizing but at the same time – "How shallow." – he knew he'd say that.

The boy in distraught jerked forwards as if he just got stung by a fifty watt tazer to his back at how blunt his former classmate was even at his time of woe – but it didn't take long at all for him to recover and retort strongly (and comically) when he had turned into some angry anime face "IT'S NOT SHALLOW!" at his next words, he put a fist to his heart as if he was stating the law "If a girl calls you a friend and you don't like it it's the first sign of love!"

"Yes, yes we heard that before." Isogai deadpanned and heaved a sigh. Karma on the other hand had unknowingly become curious after this – but still kept a lazed smile to keep that cool vibe "Oh? You're finally settling down on one girl?"

From what he knew, this notorious playboy couldn't care less if he'd gotten trash talked and ridiculed by some girl because he could always move on to the next one with his 'live-in-the-moment' character, but now that he'd actually taken some damage from this one girl (whoever she may be), he didn't just ask that out of whim.

"Well, kind of. But that's what I plan on doing." Maehara had recovered from his so-called distress and answered back with a thumbs-up and a grin that made it look like there was a star twinkling by the side of his winked eye.

"That so? Well then what's the news on Isogai's part?" he faced the former class representative whom responded with that cheery smile as he shared how his life had gone so far with enthusiasm "Me? Well, now that I've gotten financial support thanks to Karasuma-sensei and his other agent buddies, things have been going well so now I'm dead set on studying so that, well, just _maybe_ I can try to become a social worker in the future." He had a sheepish grin at that last bit as he shrugged.

"Oh? That's like you. What school are you both going to?" and the conversation flowed on and on between the three considered most attractive men of last year's 3-E. But since one of them was not exactly as close as the other two, most topics revolved around regular things – home, what they've heard from other classmates or anything about the things they've done that year…for last year had not been touched.

Albeit being the one to initiate the questions most of the time, Karma didn't really feel what you would call 'happy' when he listened to them – it just reminded him of the fact that they were able to do something he hadn't; and he's not sure if he'll be able to do it either…

Move on…

"Oh! Nagisa and Akari-chan are here!" Isogai was the first to notice the two walk their way and it didn't take a second for the other two to turn their attention to the odd couple with the peculiar shades of hair. Upon further inspection, they were hand in hand – Akari had her hair down and wore a pink, white polka-dotted blouse that went well with the white shorts held by a brown belt whilst her presumed boyfriend (for he could be mistaken as a female by anyone else) had a pair of dark blue pants with a dark blue t-shirt with the print of his favorite comic series underneath a white, unbuttoned, collared, short-sleeved shirt.

"Yo!" Nagisa called to the three of them as he gently pulled his green-haired (it never went back to its original color) companion at a quicker pace. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" the jolly greenette beamed at them once they had come over.

"It's alright!" the dark-haired ikemen reassured them and welcomed them with an eager smile – as opposed to how Maehara took it for all he did was flame.

"YOU CALL THIS STEADY?! THIS IS PRACTICALLY YOUR IDEAL EVERYDAY COUPLE!" fortunately the short couple chose to pay no mind to whatever problem it is he had with them with a sweatdrop and some other remarks that the redhead didn't quite catch for he had still yet to let the fact sink in that they were _that _now.

"Yo. Long time, Karma-kun." He turned to his best friend whom offered him a hand to high five to – which he obliged by taking it. "Yo, Nagisa-kun. Seems you've finally proved some of your manhood." He said this with a mock childlike tone that came with a smile; and the bluenette knew then that he should be ready for a day of exploitation and ridicule from this delinquent friend of his when he quickly found the true intention behind that praise and found a nervous sweatdrop go down the side of his face.

"Hey, where do you think we should go first?" Kayano (Akari) cut into the boy's conversation – she may be a different person now but there were still points about her that resembled the Kayano Kaede of last year; like how she still had this energetic vibe to her.

A few more words and greetings were exchanged after that as they too had caught up with each other's lives and dealt with recent subjects like the reason the couple was late or whatever. And Karma didn't fail to notice how they were actually acting all couple-like even while they made their way to the entrance gates. But that wasn't the only thing he took note of – for one thing, the Kayano he once knew had stopped acting and now went by her real name, and Nagisa, whom proclaimed that he wouldn't let their experiences go to a waste with petty acting, had appeared to have grown accustomed to acknowledging her by her given name and has accepted her.

And the thought he had since the moment he got there finally resounded resolutely within his mind

_Everyone's changing._

"Oi, Karma! We're going in." his train of thought had been ceased by Maehara's call before he turned around to find his group already through the gates staring at him for they had only stopped themselves from going in because of him suddenly going into a trance.

To hide his self-conflict, he smiled back like his usual self and jogged over "Yeah!"

Nagisa raised an eyebrow at this.

* * *

"You bought those for her?" a helmet-headed brunette gestured to a box as she walked alongside a fairly taller, lighter haired girl whom held it on a sidewalk this bright summer day.

It was about 2 pm when they cut their day-out short with the other Class E girls. The sun was high above the ground without a cloud there to block it from bathing the town with nearly merciless heat that led to the two girls underneath its full glory to sweat despite their rather fresh style of clothing today. Rio had on a purple, floral blouse that had thin fabric to them and were generally comfortable when you looked at it for it swayed as she walked to reveal a striped belt onto her brown shorts – in her hands was a box of donuts and a few other plastic bags that came from the earlier get-together. Yuzuki on the other hand had a sleeveless, bubblegum pink hoodie and a pair of white shorts that went well with her tastes and mood to wear something simple today – but even with her choice of clothing she found herself almost as wet as a man having intense gym class.

It wasn't this hot in the morning, so they should just be glad they decided to hang out in the morning with the others – but they had to leave early due to the agreement these two had that they would spend time with their bespectacled introvert for the rest of the day; thus clears up where their next destination was.

"Yep." She held up the box of donuts with a keen smile "We can share this with her when we get there since she didn't get a chance to hang out today. So the least we could do is pay her a visit since we're practically already a month and a half into our summer break and she still hasn't accepted any of our offers. And besides…" the honest and good-willed smile had completely vanished when it shifted into her classic, evil smirk as her eyes resembled stars for a second underneath the shadow of her hair – clearly she had something up her sleeve _again_ that would may or may not ruin someone's life "I may as well get some interesting scoops and find some of her most shameful possessions~"

"You were going to use donuts as a bribe, weren't you?" Yuzuki didn't even try to stop the sweatdrop that formed at the side of her face at how unbelievable her friend's behavior was, and her bothered state only increased when she was replied with a wicked snigger; then again, when did she not feel this sense of disappointment around her since they'd become close? Getting used to this woman's snoopiness by now, she let out a sigh as they went up a set of metal stairs that were supposed to serve as a fire escape – but since there was no harm in using it they did so anyway.

"But how'd you get her address anyway?" the otaku brought up another concern of hers as they've already reached the last of the steps to the floor of their desired location.

"Oh, I looked it up in her school record." The English veteran worded this out as if it was just another regular statement and not something that had caused Yuzuki to stop in her steps and have an eyebrow twitch in slight frustration for her friend had yet again done something unbecoming of a decent woman

"…Couldn't you have asked it from her normally?" her tone expressed how much her respect for her started to dwindle into single, sad digits – screw starting to get used to this, this girl needed serious help with how she treated her friends; since she had to take into account how she had not really had any girl from last year get close to her.

Rio pouted as they were just a few more steps away from the front door of 560 "That makes things less interesting~" and for the second time in their travel to their small friend's residence, another malicious smirk crept up to her features in a downright mischievous manner "I'd like to look forward to the face she'll make when the miraculous coincidence would occur and that I would walk into her showering." She winked and stuck a tongue out to express more of her troublemaking attitude.

And now, whatever respect the mangaka wannabe had for the blond had dwindled down into negative digits after the twitch of her eye. Walk into her showering? Is she even serious? The very idea of it just made a chill go down her spine before she put her palms to her face and spoke with a muffled voice of utmost disappointment "Rio-chan, you perverted freak."

"I'm just kidding~" and another mocking tongue was stuck out of her lips "Don't be such a worrywart, Yuzuki-chan." And with that, she rang the doorbell and waited at the front door while Yuzuki leaned to the wall right beside it to rest from the hot, clothes-drenching trip – and to think about how she had come to be friends with such a creep, who is deep down a practical genius (oh if only she showed that side of her more).

_'Walk into her in the shower? What on earth is she thinking?' _she thought as her brow twitched again as she let her foot tap onto the metal impatiently.

The door opened with a click, and almost immediately Rio yelled "Oh!"

An electrical surge suddenly came through Yuzuki's body as she ever-so-sharply turned her head to where the golden-haired girl now had an expression that said she liked seeing what she saw. "What? Did you really walk into her showering!?" Without a moment's hesitation, she stepped to the door to see what it was – Rio's reaction to her sudden exclamation brought a question mark to the side of her face as narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously_;_ but this had quickly been brushed away the instant she turned her attention back to the dark-haired girl that opened the door for them.

After seeing her, the otaku also released an "Oh!" out of how adorable she thought the girl looked with that summer dress – plain, but it enticingly fit her a lot. And all the while the two girls just stared at their eye candy with enthusiasm albeit her staring right back at them with bafflement all over her features; but just as she was about to question their reason for coming here or _how_ they actually found her-

"Manami, take these to—" naturally narrow eyes grew wide from pure shock and with this reaction from the middle aged woman, the box she was just carrying that contained a number of useless junk she was about to donate dropped to the floor in a loud clutter of noises once she had perceived the two familiar newcomers to her doorstep.

That was when both girls let out another "Oh!" – but this time it was due to the same shock the red-haired woman had for the unexpected fact that-

"Manami-chan! You live with Inari-sensei?!"

* * *

To say Inari was disgruntled was a bit of an understatement. But that didn't beat down the amount of stress that seemed to emanate around her and create a sulky aura when she slumped herself down onto one of the dining chairs of their kitchen table with her hands on her temples as if she currently had a massive headache at the moment. To be found out once (and by someone problematic) was enough for her, but to be found out twice and by two people too (whom she hopes are decent), within the same year seemed to have been quite stressful for her judging by how her bangs just draped over her eyes to create a pitch black shadow as she slouched on her seat.

Meanwhile, as this nearly-doomed-to-be-single-woman wallowed in her misery, the three freshmen girls gathered themselves by the living room area (with a slightly battered couch).

"W-W-W-Why are you two here?! U-Uhmm, h-how did you know I lived h-here? A-And a-ahh—ermm…" Manami was still distant from recovering from her flustered state as she twiddled her fingers and frantically moved her head from side to side with her shoulders occasionally shuddering– who could blame her? She's bad enough at social gatherings, but to have some of your closest friends barge into your house suddenly would be a troublesome thing even for a person _without_ introverted issues.

"We just wanted to hang out with you since you didn't get to for all the times we invited you. Now is that so bad?" Rio was the one to put her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to relax them as she stated this as if it were an obvious fact with a polite grin.

The lavender orbed girl hysterically shook her head at the question "N-N-No o-of course not i-it's just…" she decided that it would be best to calm down a little if she wanted to speak properly and not end up a stuttering mess. So with a gulp and still evident agitation, she felt herself frown "H-How did you get my address?"

"There's no need for you to know." She had been hushed by the blond's finger to her lips as she had presented her with a grin of what may be mock innocence – which left Manami in quite the daze for she turned to Yuzuki whom stood behind her with her arms crossed and a look that really convinced her that she didn't want to know judging by how downhearted that smile was.

"O-Okay…" was all she could stifle out for she had just been reminded of the time back in school excursion and how she was just pulled out of the car by the same girl with the kind of creepy that made it a little hard to go to bed at night. Rio moved her hands to her waist and raised an eyebrow teasingly "Since when did you wear dresses?"

A blush rose to the braided girl's face "A-Ah th-this? W-Well…I found it cute so I bought it a long time ago…" she had to look away to even mumble this out as she played with her fingers behind her – this earned her a pair of smiles coming from them as they eyed her with interest and looked to be criticizing it what with the nod of their heads as they rubbed their hands upon their chins.

"It fits her, to say the least." Yuzuki nodded and even put her hands together to form a rectangle at her picture of the innocent girl.

"Right? It really gives out her conservative and simple personality and there's a strange sense of her meticulousness to it." Her blue-orbed friend nodded and winked as if to say 'not bad, not bad at all.'

"Me-Meticulousness?" Manami furrowed her brows in confusion along with the tilt of her head.

"Hoh! Nice pose! I approve!" it would be nice if Yuzuki had a camera right now – she wouldn't just be moving the rectangle she formed with her hands here and there if she did.

"Mhmm! No complaints here!" Rio looked even more pumped up for this for she had even raised a fist and nodded vigorously "I got struck the moment I saw her at the front door! It was quite the surprise."

At this strange turn of events, it was as if multiple question marks just hovered above the chemistry lover's head as she tried to catch up with the two in their little criticism session on a dress she wore on a whim (and because it was hot). All she could do at the time was say "Uh…?" from time to time.

"But on more important news." Manami raised her head from her fidgety state once she sensed how a new topic was about to be brought up by the still-eager Nakamura Rio "I never would've thought you lived with Inari-sensei of all people! That was a bigger shocker there!" this all came out honestly, but with no intention to bring offense – it was just out of utter astonishment from how her tone was and the faces she made.

That's when Yuzuki let her curiosity get the best of her as she absentmindedly blurted out "Why do you live with the school nurse?"

The brunette had been immediately struck with regret after she formed an uncomfortable air in the room accidentally. Clearly she had just stuck her nose into a topic that was not to be casually discussed in this residence for over at the table, Rio didn't fail to notice how the woman who had just been sulking abruptly stood from her seat and walked away from the scene by disappearing into the hallway to her left in quite the relaxed manner but there was something about it that held a lot more meaning – resultantly, this had left the trickster with confused blue orbs that didn't stray away from where the nurse sauntered away to before the petite girl finally made a sound after what felt like minutes but were truly just seconds.

"Ah…erm…" but that was all she could get out of her mouth as she lowered her head to the ground where she could see her toes curl up on her slippers uneasily.

Understanding the situation, the other two girls exchanged a look and made a silent agreement that it was best to back off.

"You don't have to answer that." Assured Yuzuki with the added support by her hand to the shorter girl's shoulder – to which Manami nodded to with a somehow relieved smile, however this had been short-lived for not even five seconds passed before she went back to her agitation "O-Oh yeah! I have g-guests! S-S-So what should I serve you two—"

"No need~ We brought you food." Rio chimed in as she brought up a box full of donuts with a toothy grin.

"O-Oh, well i-in that case I'll get you drinks—"

"No need for that either~" just as the golden-crowned girl said this, she had already taken the girl's small shoulders and started to gently push her out of the living area "Why don't you take us to your room?" there was every hint of mischief and slyness in the tone she used – obviously, she was up and at it with her plan on getting the shy girl to spill about things and all in all basically make a source of entertainment out of her.

At the statement, purple eyes widened behind their shiny pieces of glass as the owner of which had been caught at a bewilderment at the taller girl's actions – but also, a slight panic rose within her that didn't allow for such to happen; after all this was her room they were talking about, the place where she keeps everything and anything (yes, even she has things to be embarrassed about in there). "H-Heh?! Can't we just do it in the dining table?"

Yuzuki took this question for her and only displayed the bespectacled girl with an exasperated smile as she walked alongside her with arms crossed and head facing upwards as she deadpanned her next statement "Just give her this."

"C'mon! Let's talk about the day you left Yuzuki-chan's house and went all alone with Karma-kun!" No longer able to hold her ecstasy, Rio's feet kicked up high behind her in a slow jog as she carried on in prodding the science geek into where she thinks her room is – and she guessed she was right considering how she didn't try correcting her direction and that this was the only other hall where some rooms were located

Perplexed, Manami had yet again been confused by the sudden topic she wanted to discuss when she knew there much important matters that needed attending to that day – eventually, those are what came to mind "E-eh?! But why? Shouldn't we be more concerned about the clu—"

"Don't worry, it's going real swell~" Yuzuki gave a thumbs-up and a wink as she continued walking by them at a relatively slow pace; proud of how her work had been going lately thanks to her boom of inspiration and the help of Sugino's own personal art experience.

It didn't take another second for her to try and retort back to their behavior not only just because they were about to invade her private space, but also because of the growing guilt she'd be stuck with if she actually went with it and enjoyed herself. With a turn of her head, she tried to face the blond properly to address more of her concerns "But I have to help Inari-n—"

Right on time, her eyes caught her caretaker back at the kitchen table after coming from the hall directly across theirs giving her gesturing to shoo her away with a nod and her other hand upon her waist; as if telling her 'I'll handle the rest, go have fun.'

Manami blinked at this for a few moments, still a bit hesitant to leave her with all the unfinished business in this hot afternoon – but if Inari were to tell her to do something, she wouldn't allow her to disobey; she was stubborn that way. So instead of resisting, a grateful smile crept to her lips – she had secretly always looked forward to a day where she could hang out with friends during breaks anyway; lots of people her age did it, and whenever she would see them she'd get that desire to do the same but never really had the chance to due to her shy character. And now that the opportunity was already within her grasp, she was nothing less than thankful to her guardian for being so generous to her all the time. A happy feeling forming in her chest, she let her two friends urge her to her room with her leading the way properly.

In all honesty, Yuzuki couldn't help but look forward to this day session of theirs – it should be nice to spend time with a friend she had only come to get close to this year; but whatever smile she had while thinking this turned into one of cynicism when she thought about spending this girl's hangout with a cheeky blond with a knack for messing people up…

After a few more remarks exchanged between the three of them, they turned to open a door at the very corner of this dim corridor.

Oh how Rio was going to enjoy this.

* * *

"Hey, Karma."

"Hn?"

By the time the sun had started to sink down to the west, the group of former E students had finished up with their sightseeing and were currently settled at one of the nearby restaurants. They had chosen a seafood restaurant as a result of the majority's preferences (and the fact it was cheap), and to their luck, it wasn't so packed as there were barely any people despite the astonishingly delicious food they had atop their table at the moment – speaking of good food, while everyone else chowed down, a particular redheaded delinquent had hardly even touched his plate.

Why did he order Takoyaki again?

But noticing his little dilemma since he had seen him, Isogai leapt into action for he had eventually given into his concerns as he started a conversation with the taller boy seated next to him while the other three continued with whatever they had occupied themselves with – he kind of wanted this conversation kept between the two of them, after all. "Is there anything bothering you?"

Karma blinked at this – he shouldn't be surprised that the ever- diligent class rep. would question him sooner or later, but if he had to admit, he actually tried to put up a casual front today. "What do you mean?" he replied a little indifferently as he took a sip of his drink

"Well, you haven't been talking about yourself. And there's just something a little…off about you." The dark-haired boy had his brows furrow with worry.

Karma attempted to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about and gave him a somewhat puzzled look "Is that so?"

Isogai nodded "If it's anything troublesome, you can talk to us about it." He presented him a grin for moral support, but all he got after that was a brief silence from the other – expression inscrutable.

"I see." And then another carefree smile came to his face before he pushed himself off the seat and started to head for the door with his hands stretched to the top of his head lazily. Naturally, this would get everyone's attention as four pairs of eyes followed his departing figure.

"Eh—Where are you going?" Maehara spoke what was on everyone's minds aloud with scrunched eyebrows.

"Just outside for some air." And with one last lazy wave of his hand, he was out the glass door and sauntered the rest of his way with his hands to his pockets.

This had left Isogai with a troubled frown – they weren't 'close', as one would call it, but he always tried to involve himself with this aloof boy; but seeing as he doesn't seem to oblige with his reaches to him, one can only feel a bit upset.

"Nagisa, isn't there something weird about Karma-kun?" Akari hadn't let her gaze leave the door in her bewilderment.

"Yeah, I noticed how he kind of lost his oomph since I saw him." The brown-haired boy commented, also quite bothered by the behavior his old classmate put up today albeit it being what one would deem 'normal' enough.

And the blue-haired boy did not let his eyes stray away from where his best friend had gone off to, but not with question – rather, he had an idea what made him act that way in the first place.

* * *

"Aw, and here I thought I could get some dessert after – now I've lost my appetite." A tall, scarlet-haired boy sauntered about on the glossy, gold-ish, kaleidoscope-patterned floor that reflected his blithe form and outwardly indifferent features.

The ground floor of the mall conveniently put up beside the museum was a little of what you could consider empty. Only a few were caught walking in groups while there were those that only passed by – probably due to the hour which was about late 4 pm. Karma had only taken notice of how fast time had swept by when he was met with an orange light that glowed against the ceramic floor where his feet patted upon just by the large, wide, entrance that lacked a door, but such could be justified by how it reached up to ten meters above the ground; most likely it had been put there for visitors to have a view of the sunset mercury orbs now laid upon.

As he approached the road outside of the building, the sight of an overfamiliar river came to his observations – it was the same one he would pass by every day. From what peripheral vision could take in, the only things with him on the narrow road were a few bushes and some other weeds that needed picking as they were sticking out of some patches of the grass.

But something drew him closer to the picture in front and had himself positioned just by the edge of the slanted, downhill, grassy portion that stretched almost as infinitely as the river itself which created an enticing glimmer as the comforting light from the sun spread its glory onto the rippling body of water. It was an admirable scene, he'd give it that – but there was something about it that had him completely entranced, not only was it familiar, but it let a similar, but more alluring image come to mind. His head would make it out as a little blurred – kind of like how a camera was in the middle of focusing itself as he would slowly let that radiant smile take over his thoughts; the river, the black hair that shined against the same color of light in front of him right now, and the movement of her lips when she said…

_'You can have Manaka.'_

And a breeze went by that let his hair fly to the side in a graceful manner – his expression had gone soft and serious just by thinking back at that. He immediately thought of distracting himself with the direction the wind went as he turned his head to the right where it continued to drift by; there, he caught sight of the long, metal bridge he knew all too well. Despite there being a sunset where his area was, that portion of the town looked quite cloudy – therefore no such light reflected against the almost rust-less passage. If he were to estimate, he stood about 5-6 kilometers away from it.

_'…I can't promise you that, Karma-kun.'_

Once he realized that _she_ had just come up again as his thoughts piled up, he clenched his teeth a tad; how many times was it now on that day? Seeing that he couldn't find relief even with isolating himself, he exhaled through his nose and just caught himself in a bad mood. He was about to turn tail until-

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" And there came the sound of a girl's panicked screeching which originated from his left side where he sharply had his eyes move to. It took him quite some time to take in what had happened, but upon seeing pale brown hair fly uncontrollably, he didn't even have to guess who it was, especially with that big bow she always had on – today it was blue.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Yep, there was his senior right now on a bike going downhill at a speed that would've gotten her a warning ticket from traffic officers – screaming with all her might as her vehicle only went faster the lower she travelled down the steep hill. He didn't get another chance to react to this and only watched in confusion for in no time at all she made it to his level of ground and had her bike ram into a pole sitting close by; but it seemed that was not the end of it for misfortune must have hit her bad today as his head followed her rather short figure get thrown off the bicycle by the impact of her crash to the (now slightly bent) pole.

An 'OOMPH!' came from her when she fortunately crashed onto the bushes coincidentally over to the right of where he was positioned (yes, that was how far she was able to fly.). At the very least, he could be sure that she wasn't dead for a groan came from behind it – but that didn't really ease most of his concerns as he raised an eyebrow and felt some sweat by the side of his head at how disconcerted he was with what had just unfolded.

But being genuinely worried about the girl, he approached the set of plants.

"Urrgghh…" was all that came out Mai's mouth when he found her there with eyes that resembled swirls at the moment as her body had itself sprawled onto the greenery a little comically – twigs and small leaves were sticking out of her already tangled up hair as he could spot a few of the other green still in the midst of falling slowly onto her light blue parka. After a few seconds, she came to and sat up groggily with the help of her arms – but this state of dizziness had dissipated the instant she lifted her head and saw a familiar face "Oh! Akabane-kun! Good afternoon! Coincidence seeing you here! What _are_ you doing here? And that bike's not broken is it?"

Her happy-go-lucky personality made it look like she hadn't just gone through an almost death-defying crash – his senior was naturally odd that way, he knew that much, but that didn't stop him from extending a hand with a serious expression, but there were hints upon it that he was yet to recover from such a random happening in the midst of his contemplation.

"On more important matters; senpai, are you okay?" this came out quite casually despite still being a tad bit disturbed as she enthusiastically took hold of his hand and let him help her up.

"Yep~! I'm A-okay!" she displayed him a jolly grin and an exaggerated thumbs-up "Just have a little…motion…sickness…"

After a gag, she dove into the bushes again and barfed – Karma impulsively stepped back and watched while she did so.

* * *

Conveniently, there was a line of vending machines just on the wall behind the two.

After Isura Mai relieved her stomach of its contents, her junior had offered to get her a drink so she could feel better and rest a bit before she had to ride off to wherever she had to again – but he had been denied when he also insisted on paying; for this second year appeared to have 'Senpai Rules' that would not forgive such. Without much conflict between the two, it ended up with the girl getting what she wanted and paying for both of them.

For a few minutes, all the pair did was sip on their drinks as they enjoyed the view given to them freely by nature's splendors in a surprisingly comfortable silence though the two weren't close friends – the explanation for that may be because the shorter girl was just naturally a good person to be with because of her welcoming aura. Karma went with his usual juice box whereas Mai had a drink befitting of her – canned café au lait, that she was still yet to consume for it had only rested itself between her palms.

A soft expression was on when she sprung up a conversation between them unexpectedly "Well?"

Karma wasn't sure where she was going with this for the tone she used could be compared to that of a kind teacher asking a student for results in a motherly way. He separated his lips from the straw and turned to her with question "Well…?"

"What's brought you out here? What were you thinking about to yourself all alone?" she didn't sound inquisitive; rather, it was like she had this tone in her voice that made it sound jovial but at the same time it's as if she saw through him. Like she already knew the answer somewhere there and was aware that he had not taken notice of his own actions for she had on a knowing smile and had her eyes closed peacefully – not even glancing at him while she spoke.

A little taken aback because he had been read, and that he had only realized his actions himself at the moment, he had failed to respond to the older girl which only prodded her to proceed with what she wanted to say.

"Akabane-kun, ever since I met you I've had some suspicions on your character." She chimed with a mock detective-like tone and a wag of her finger as if he was being scolded in a polite manner for she kept her smile on – which lived up to her adorable reputation.

Karma had a hint where this was going from then on – it was probably a lecture of some sorts; the reason for such, he couldn't quite grasp, so he decides to just go with the flow for the meantime by responding to this with a smirk "Aw Senpai, you make it sound like I'm a criminal at large."

Mai giggled at this "Not that kind."

The brunette soon found herself locking her blue orbs with the orange horizon – the clouds were beginning to pile up around the source of light, and yet the said source still managed to keep itself within view and harmonize perfectly with the cotton-like material as it only made the river down below look enthralling.

She started again in the same matter-of-fact tone she used earlier that made her sound like she was counseling him with another wag of her finger "Akabane Karma-kun, you seem to be quite lost, aren't you?"

This got his attention – how is it this girl he barely knew had been able to see through that as well? Was he that obvious, or did this senpai just have a knack for knowing when things were amiss? But in his slight confusion, he merely remained silent and listened to what she had to say since it had unknowingly piqued his interest.

"Your character seems to be lacking a clear straight path as of late. You're presented with many but you can't choose one – or rather…" she paused for a bit, but did not turn away from the view as her expression softened "…you dare not take one. Am I mistaken?"

This time, she spared him a glance – only to be displayed with how he had averted his eyes and somehow gave her the cold shoulder; clearly in no mood for this kind of talk, and yet Mai saw this as another chance to continue, for it had just proved that he was troubled by something and she just got it right. Now, in a more serious tone "You're confused – it's written all over your face. You…" Bright blue orbs traveled to the light that twinkled upon the undulated water "Lost a vision you once had, didn't you?"

Still perplexed on the issue he had at how this senior was able to read him so easily, and that she had brought this up out of nowhere, he spoke with a low, serious tone but refused to meet her eyes by letting his red hair block his features "Why are you telling me this?"

"…I've been there before." She was calm in saying this, but didn't let that ebullient character leave her entirely for she kept her smile as if she were talking about just another common matter when really it must have been something big, judging from that look he found in her eye when he took a glance – Karma knew better than to pry and kept himself mute to have her continue; this time he knew that by her next words, she spoke solely from experience "That feeling where you can't see if there's anything else left for you…"

She blinked and moved her gaze downcast "It was like I saw myself in you, that's why. So I guess…" moving her head to his side (knowing he was now looking at her), she beamed "I can try to relate for a while."

He only blinked back a few times, but kept stoic and chose not to respond by looking away again and let the stubborn side of his personality come up – she had been cold-shouldered once more and put on a sad smile; it was exactly how she was. In truth, she didn't plan on shoving this so suddenly at his face – even if she had thought about having a talk with him for some time now – but seeing as there was clearly an internal struggle with the way he looked when she saw him, she just had to leap into action.

Mai took a moment to think about her next words. Once she had grasped an idea, she held her head high and faced the horizon with a brightness to her features as her hands moved to her back to intertwine themselves "Akabane-kun, do you ever wonder why I'm so dead set on helping you and your club out?"

Now that she mentioned it – she _had_ been a little too giving of her time and effort for them specifically. He had wondered before how she dealt with her other responsibilities and the rest of the clubs she had given her support to since she was found paying more attention to their group than necessary; he wasn't sure if she was aware of that habit of hers until today. And with a spark of curiosity, he managed to look to her as an indication for her to go on.

The brunette didn't let the sky stray away from her vision as she replied "The reason is because I see how happy you all are when you're together. I rarely see people that enjoy each other's companies the same way you do. And I'm sure that you've gone through things together that made you all share such a bond."

So, she was right even about _that._ And the redhead had a thought sound in his mind as he stared at her

_'What's up with this senpai?'_

"To me, people's smiles are a precious thing." Karma watched her pause and took in how she lowered her orbs to face the grass – smile never wavering as she may have thought of a grim memory with how her feet brushed the soil just now.

By this time, the stubbornness inside of him had gone away as he properly faced her – after she said that, his bad mood had somehow been lifted up from the newfound –well, he couldn't really describe what new opinion he had on her at the moment, but the closest word would be trust.

Mai put a hand to her chest as if to ease a pain that had been brought by a memory as she closed her eyes "I'd like for them to keep doing so even when in pain…" droopy, blue eyes revealed themselves and went over to the red-haired boy next to her "Akabane-kun, don't you consider your clubmates as something to hold dear?"

Yet again, he had not seen this question coming and had to be given a moment to think about his answer; his brows furrowed and he let his head lower unconsciously just by giving it deep contemplation "I…haven't really thought about it…but…"

Now that he had answered her, Mai felt relief wash over her for a second as a pleased grin graced her face – simple it may be, but it lightened up her mood. She started with a genuine smile and stared at him with a sense of tenderness; heck even her voice brimmed with sincerity and wisdom as she said-

"Everyone needs something precious to keep themselves going."

Karma blinked at first, but found himself taking her next words into consideration for she spoke with the same tone and the same expression when she locked her eyes with the sun again "I ran for president last year because I found what mine was. Even if I didn't win, that was the start of my clear road. We all look for something to hold dear. When we realize it, that's when we take a step forward." Another pause before she reverted her kindhearted gaze to her junior.

"What do you consider precious?"

Moments of silence drifted by for the umpteenth time that day as he gave that question another space for his mind to be on about. After putting two and two together, and thoroughly looking through if he still found anything in this monochromatic world of his, he replied with a forlorn smile because of how laughable his dilemma was "…I don't think there is one..."

"I'm sure that's not true." Mai wasted no time in answering back to this – which earned her a somewhat sharp turn from the boy before she beamed.

"If it was, you wouldn't be standing out here thinking about it."

Once again, this senior had caught him to a tongue-tie for he couldn't deny the fact that what this girl had done right now had somehow gotten him to discover a new respect for her – and on the same day he figured he could trust her too. Evidently impressed, Karma looked at her with a bit of admiration.

"Senpai…when I think about it, you tend to give good advice." – it began to become clear to him why his bespectacled friend had come to look up to her so much.

"Hm? Really? Well…" the brunette stretched her arms upwards as if reaching for the sky as she said her next set of words with resolute, blue eyes "I want to be prepared for whatever life throws at me after all."

And just as she was relishing on the feeling that she had done well with this little talk she initiated judging by the results she got, her shoulders abruptly jolted up as she had alarm precipitously surge through her body "Ah! I took too long! Sorry! I have to go!" as she said this, she was already in the middle of jogging back to her (miraculously unscathed) bike – swiftly picking it up and throwing her leg over it before she saluted, soldier style "Omo-chan's been harassing Pres. From what I heard! I'm off to their rescue to settle their differences!" she didn't need to inform him of this, but she did anyway as she put her arms across each other to create an 'X' as if some police guy what with the mock man-face she made just now; but such dropped in a second when she gave him another energetic beam and rode away, café au lait still yet to be consumed for it was still within the same hand she used to wave goodbye to him "I wish you a good day~!"

For a moment there he forgot she was the owner of a mysterious hybrid creature he could've lived without encountering, thus he shouldn't be surprised by her oddness. But even with that thought, he still made an effort to raise his hand in farewell to the older girl he had come to change his views of – even if it had all started with her getting thrown off the same bicycle she rode right now.

Speaking of how she left, Karma had not let his eyes leave the girl's departing form as another observation came up in his head. Since she waved him goodbye, she had her full on focus to what's in front of her while she pedaled away – but there was more to that, of course.

_Senpai…doesn't look back…_

Now that his previously troubled mind had somehow come to ease, a smile crept up to his features as he turned his attention back to the still lowering sun and rested himself on the grass casually.

_Something precious, huh…_

* * *

**Okay I know it's not much and yet it's so darn long you must've been snoozing halfway, but eh ;w;  
**

**I tried, and I will do better in the next chapter because I honestly look forward to the end of this arc VERY much.**

**And no I will not tell you why. You just have to wait *tsundere look away* b-baka! *is slapped by readers* XD**

**By the way, If ya'll are gonna ask why Inari being found out is such a big thing for her…think about it real hard 8D**

**I mean that school spreads rumors like wildfire on gasoline even if they have smart students. **

**ALRIGHT THEN~! It may not have been the best but I still hope you enjoyed!**

**Now, TO BE CONTINUED! **

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND WARN ME FOR OOC. (Seriously especially the utatan...and Karma /w\\)**

**Jaa ne!**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	15. Chapter 15

**AAHH! THE THINGS I EDITED IN THIS DOCUMENT GOT DELETED NOW I HAVE TO RESTART DO YOU KNOW HOW LAZY THAT MAKES ME? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S LIKE 3 AM WHERE I'M PLANNING THE NEXT CHAPTER *cries***

**Anyway, YAY! END OF ARC FOR REAL!**

**I exerted an extra effort into this end of arc for some reason. Well you'll probably see the reason why soon after you read X'3 **

**But first and foremost, LET'S GIVE A HAND TO ISURA-SENPAI! PHEW! I'm glad you all seem to like her and her weird components! NOW LET'S GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE! **

**(*Meanwhile Mai: Omo-chan! You can't just go under high school girl's skirts without asking to court them!  
Sugino, Yuzuki and Rio passing by be like: YOU _DON'T_ GO UNDER IN GENERAL!)**

**HAHA LOL okay let's get to the important (lol no) talk. This last one's pretty...idk but for once I am proud enough to have written it X'3 So I'd like it very much if you told me how you felt about it ^W^**

**But I regret to inform you that even if I say this, PLEASE FORGIVE ME ONE MORE TIME FOR I CAN'T ANSWER REVIEWS IN THIS LATE HOUR AND CRANKY STATE TTnTT  
**

**Im really sorry I couldn't, but my eyes are too tired because I've already used up an hour editing the doc plus answering reviews BUT THEN NO DELETED. So I guess just for this chapter I'll PM your replies when I get the chance to but JUST this chapter so don't worry! Again Im very sorry for heeding to my selfish needs and not answering reviews that deserve replies the same time as chapter Q3Q**

**OKay Imma stop making excuses now and just get on with the disclaimer: If I owned it I would've been writing all of this officially 8D**

**Well then, Enjoy~!**

* * *

**Chapter 14: If I Were To Tell You…(END OF ARC: I'll Keep it a Secret)**

"Manami-chan."

"Hm?"

"You lack appeal." Stated a blond haired girl bluntly with obvious disappointment in her tone as she had her hands into a drawer next to a particular science nerd's bed – the aforementioned science nerd could only stare at her with confusion clouding her lavender eyes beneath the shine of her glasses against the white light of her bedroom.

"What's this?" the taller girl revealed what she had been looking through for the past minutes since her otaku friend had gone off to the restroom (because she wouldn't have been able to do this had she not gone away). "You expect to attract anyone with this?" her dissatisfied 'this' referred to the full clad sets of pure white under-garments both for the top and the bottom – all of which were as plain as a deserted patch of sand for they didn't even have a hint of fashion or any type of design. To Rio, they were sad pairs of womanly shame, and it was only proven by her expression as she held one pair.

Manami dropped the tray they had eaten from with horrified purple eyes as a deep crimson began to overtake the color of her pale complexion starting from the neck up – her body temperature rose massively by the millisecond while her limbs started to become stiff. But after the sound of the loud clutter of _clangs_ by the plates and utensils (that are thankfully not broken), her hands came up to her hair in a sudden rush of adrenaline and before she knew it she slammed the drawer shut after diving to where she was; causing the larger girl to have to back away a bit by the wall.

With much agitation still present all over her form, the eyeglasses-ed girl shakily turned her head to the golden-crowned girl with eyeballs that resembled scribbles out of the rush of emotions that made her head bombard itself with a disarray of thoughts – now it was like steam started to emanate from her almost completely red form "I-I-I-It's not a-a-a-as if I wa-want some-someone to loo-look at that p-p-p-p-_part_ of me! NAKAMURA-SAN!" she whined out her name to her in a high pitched squeak that could be compared to when a little sister would complain about being made fun of – in fact, she even looked like one with the somewhat bratty way she screeched her name and tried to grab the ones still in her hand

But even with this honestly adorable face and reaction that anyone can submit to, Rio only smirked threateningly and put the possession in her hand further away "_Nakamura-san?_"

Realizing what she said, and finding that look of hers a little scary, Manami amended her 'mistake' after a nervous gulp "R-Ri-Rio-chan, please put those down…" some of the adrenaline had faded away but was replaced by a look of distress that had the blond cease her antics and display the girl a pout.

"Heyy." Rio let her palms squeeze the petite girl's cheeks gently and had her look up – which was quite cute to look at as she rubbed them from time to time and let her head turn side to side. Albeit doing this friendly gesture, the pout on her face remained as she lectured her "You have to be more femininely appealing you know? If you don't at least try, how are you going to get married?"

The blond let go of her face to let her answer after the other gave out a muffled sound through closed lips as a result of being released from her hold. "U-Uhmm…er…" Manami appeared to have found this topic awkward for her, but soon that awkwardness shifted into quite the cheerless atmosphere with the lowering of the introvert's head as a glum smile graced her face – her shoulders even relaxed when she uttered in a soft yet audible voice-

"I…I've never thought of getting married before…and even if I did, I don't think anyone will be willing to…" Rio kept silent and watched her shrug and look to the side of the floor with a pessimistic expression, but the smile remained "For a person like me…it's hard to see myself that way…"

A few more quiet moments drifted by after that – and that was what left the taller girl to let those words linger about in her train of thought; she shouldn't be surprised by this coming from her, but that didn't change the fact that it was downright somber to know that that was how she saw herself even after all this time. But after thinking about it a little more, she let a smirk take over her serious expression "Yush!"

"Hm?" Manami tilted her head to the side and faced up at her friend whom abruptly got to her feet.

The smirk only grew wider as Rio put a hand to her hip and pointed down to the spectacled girl with enthusiasm "We're gonna go shopping!"

At that same moment, Yuzuki had come in just in time to see how her blond friend had some sort of pose in front of the raven-haired girl knelt on the floor with quizzicality upon her blinking lavender orbs – with a growing curiosity, the brunette tilted her head "Is something going on?" – she hopes it's something decent though.

"Oh! Yuzuki-chan! Good timing! Next time we plan an outing, we're taking Manami-chan shopping!" the ecstatic, light-haired girl proclaimed eagerly – and it somehow relieved the otaku of her suspicions of it being another maddening crisis, but in in turn, she felt her brows furrow.

"But doesn't she dislike malls and shopping?" Yuzuki stepped inside fully to properly join them in the conversation by having herself seated on the bed.

"Yes, yes. I know. But look at this." Rio reasoned out, the disappointment back on her features as she revealed the drawer's contents to the girl once more – much to Manami's dismay as panic surged through her body again "AAAHH! STOP LOOKING!" But as opposed to this wish, the brunette only did the opposite; heck she even eyed it as if it were the saddest thing in the world.

"Manami-chan…this is…" she looked near tears as she searched for words to describe this predicament.

"Please don't look so sorry for me!" the one being victimized cried out and had another whiny expression on.

"It's decided!" Rio caught the two's attention for they had shifted their heads to find her presenting them with blue orbs full of resolve and another exaggerated point of her finger to the braided girl "We're gonna woman you up for the rest of the break!"

"E-Eh?! But—"

"Sounds nice!" Yuzuki chimed in with approval, which only got her another panicked reaction from the one knelt on the floor "Bu-But I don't really need to buy any more clothes—"

"Last time I checked, that dress was the only thing in your wardrobe that actually caught my eye." Rio immediately cut her off just to scold her regarding this fact; heck her smile disappeared for a moment just to display her unamusement to the girl's taste in apparel.

"Mm…" Manami frowned at this with unease as a drop of sweat came from the side of her head – she knew that whatever retort she'd throw would be overlooked whenever these two had their minds made up.

"Alright then!" the manga-lover looked hyped for this already with that enthusiastic remark. Noticing the short girl still in a state of distraught, she pet her head lightly "C'mon, don't look so down. We're doing this for your sake." Yuzuki tried cheering her up and Rio followed suit by crouching down to her level and pinching her cheek gently with a genuine smile.

"Mhm, honing your womanly essentials shouldn't be so bad, right?"

"But…" the dark-haired girl still kept her gaze downcast and spoke in a soft voice – shoulders tensed up. The other two were accustomed to seeing how the girl always felt upset over trivial things, so it wasn't such a new occurrence to them to see this reaction from her and get the gist of her thoughts.

"Don't worry about it. After all, it's just what friends do." Yuzuki reassured once more – but her understanding of what bothered her had been different from what the bespectacled girl really had on her mind; such was proven when she mumbled out "That's not it…"

"Hm?" Both girls said simultaneously – neither of them expected that kind of reply.

Manami fidgeted for a second before she could relay her words properly "Eh, well…I don't want to ask too much of Inari-nee." The lack of response from the two of them urged her to go on for it assured her they were more than willing to listen.

"Because…well, Inari-nee always works hard for me. She even has lots of part-tome jobs just so she could get the both of us to live comfortably. I've always been grateful for that..." a brief pause came just for her to turn her head up and face them as she brooded over her words with a bittersweet smile "Even if we aren't related, she still tries so hard. So I don't want to ask for a lot of things…it's the least I could do."

A respectful silence came as they thought about her words. Neither of them took it as a good option to let her speak about her past, but of course, that would leave them in the dark – and though they knew that the girl was most probably thinking lowly of herself again, they were in no right to tell her such for they were not knowledgeable of the full story; naturally, they couldn't say anything to her for a while. But as if having the same thoughts, the two exchanged a look and gave each other a nod before they faced their nerdy friend.

"We're still taking you shopping." Rio said cheekily before she sat back on the floor.

Manami, taken aback, was only able to respond with another "Heh?" – now she was unsure if they did listen, but then again she really didn't know what they had up their sleeve until Yuzuki said "But leave the payment to us!" with an energetic thumbs-up and a wink before she high-fived the blond girl whom laid laxly on the floor.

"But that's—" They got the exact reaction they expected from her – so with that in mind, they both sharply turned and presented her with sly grins that brought the message that their decision was a firm and solid final, thus she had been silenced.

"Yay~!" Happy with the results, Rio grinned once more and had gotten hyped all of a sudden "Oh! We should invite other girls too! Maybe Kurahashi and Akari-chan if she's not with Nagisa!" she suggested zealously – already formulating the plans they could do together when that day came.

Yuzuki succeeded this with an ecstatic beam of her own and a finger up in eureka "Ah! Maybe we can get Yada-san to come with us!"

"Oh, good call!"

As the two pushed through with their rapturous organization of this event, Manami still found herself in quite the discomfort – likely by the fact that they were going to pay _for _her, which was against her morals. However, she couldn't help but feel delighted by her friend's kindness; it was the first time she'd ever had friends over just to have fun, and to know that sometime in the break she was going to have an outing with them that they brought about for her sake – she had only thought such a day would come in her daydreams, now that it had become reality, a grateful beam stretched across her face as a thought came: she could never ask for better friends.

"Heck, we can invite Bitch-sensei to the party!"

"Yeah!" a moment after exclaiming this, Yuzuki had a thought.

Bitch-sensei buying clothes for Manami

_Bitch-sensei buying clothes for Manami_

**_Bitch-sensei_**_ buying __**clothes **__for __**Manami**_

"HELL NO!"

* * *

"Yo, Karma-kun." The voice of a blue-haired boy that originated from behind him did not surprise the mercury-orbed delinquent whom had not torn those said orbs from the sun that was just beginning to kiss the horizon.

It had only been a few minutes since Karma had settled himself down onto the grass after his little talk with a senior he now saw under another light; if there was anything he would be surprised about, it would be that his best friend took long enough to finally arrive.

He acknowledged the newcomer's presence by turning his head to the side "You came to check on me?"

"Well, there's obviously something bothering you." Nagisa said as he approached his best friend and stationed himself not too far from his left – just atop the edge of the grassy portion where the redhead sat in a laid-back fashion with his arms behind him for support; in no time at all, he found himself staring into the same view as him before he continued "I came to try and get you to tell me what it is."

A cool breeze passed them by as it let a pair of blue pigtails dance with it to the right side while he awaited a response. The only reverberations that came with this wind were the scratches of dry leaves upon the narrow, cobblestoned street from behind the duo and the bustling of the bushes and the trees nearby; there was no indication of other people within the vicinity as the day had begun to come to a close – the scent of summer and the added natural fragrance of the river down below them not feigning to touch their nostrils as both had come to a rather remedying silence; but not so much for the scarlet-haired boy who had been going through another thought process since his friend's last statement.

For a moment there, the shorter boy was beginning to wonder if he ever will reply to his sentence; or that he had come at a bad time to console him – but this had been a short-lived feeling once he broke the quietude, finally. "Nagisa-kun."

The boy who had been mentioned didn't answer anything in particular and let his blue eyes travel down to where he sat – knowing his silence was enough for him to know that he wanted him to continue; but he noticed how he still hadn't let his half-lidded eyes leave the orange orb in front of them.

"Why are you dating Kayano-chan?"

"A-Akari? W-Well…" Well, this certainly was unexpected from him – naturally, Nagisa felt some heat reach his cheeks because of the out-of-the-blue inquiry; before he thought about his answer to the question, he wondered what had brought it up in the first place, and seeing how his friend didn't really look to be in some teasing mode, the pigtailed boy narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me…is this about a girl?"

That's Class 3-E's Shiota Nagisa for you. Analytical piece of shit.

"You can say that." Karma replied with a lazy smile – so he'd been caught already. And the conversation had gone into a brief pause after that just to let the subtle sound of the river's current fill their ears for a short while.

Nagisa had not put into his expectations the fact that his behavior from earlier circled on a female – heck, he hadn't considered if his friend was all that interested in love and the whatnot; then again, he wasn't either until it just came. So after a few more seconds, he shifted his gaze back to the sky "Well? Are you gonna tell me who or do I already know?"

Karma kept a casual front and stifled an almost non-existent chuckle "Maybe. But what I could tell you is that she's shy, hopelessly accident prone, terrible with people and…" the smile faded away when he lowered his eyes to the water that kissed the moist soil right below him.

_'Akabane-san…'_

"…fragile."

Another pause from the both of them. The pigtailed boy kept his outward features blank, but it wasn't the same case underneath when he took notice of how he said that last word – it was low and heavy; as if it held onto so many emotions regarding that characteristic.

"…Well? What about her then?" he pursued with the topic with a somehow blasé tone – but it was laced with the will to listen to the boy as he crouched down to rest himself on the edge of the grass to his top left.

It took moments for Karma to think about his answer to the question until another smile came – this time out of how laughable he could be right now for he was at a loss "…I don't really know myself but…"

The image of her crestfallen lavender eyes came to as it were accompanied by a faint, exhausted smile – the way her braids flew with the light breeze that passed by and the view of the grove of trees that rustled behind her fatigued, and small figure…

It was the day she told him she can't promise to let him be there for her all the time.

"She keeps popping up in my mind." He started again, changing his position so that he was slouching now; his arms crossed as his hands held onto his spread knees – almost like a tuck position. "When she's around, I always think of things that could happen to her – I overthink to the point that I can't bring myself to leave her side anymore. Because the one time I did…" memories of the day she was buried under a pile of debris flashed rapidly; as if the emotions he had that day had not since been forgotten. The way a student came running to them, the way he desperately took action, the way she looked when she finally spotted light…

"I went into a really uncool mode…" Karma deadpanned. "But even though I'm almost always…well…" he had to prepare himself to use the word "scared of what could happen…" he blinked as he stared back up at the nearly half-ed sun, this time with a genuine smile as he spoke "I catch myself only awed with the things she does…I can't always expect each move she makes, and I'm found just enjoying whatever show she brings me." And she came up again – the first time she asked to have juice with him, the night she called him just to tell him she'll do her best, how she was able to stand up against her flaws outstandingly, and the scenes he had blessed him with "But in any case…" he sighed and rested his forehead with the support of his hand.

"I'm still at a loss for how I should feel about her…"

Nagisa stared at him from the side of his eye with slightly raised eyebrows – to hear all of this coming from him was a _very_ rare occurrence. Heck, he's not even sure if he'd witnessed it occur before due to how sporadic this was. Although, after taking in how he really had his head at a boggled state just by looking at him, and after thoroughly understanding his words and the feelings held inside of them, he blinked once and faced forward again.

"Oh. So you fell in love."

Mercury eyes grew wide gradually as the owner let those words sink in ever so slowly. He froze in place; hand still upon forehead for it had refused to remove itself after how blunt that statement was as the rest of his body had somehow gotten numb to him. Another wind passed by and let his hair fly with it in his moment of cognizance – but he also had that suspicion himself. He wasn't dense; he's far from that, really – he just refused to believe it and/or pushed the feeling down with all of his might and gave himself excuses; and he was also aware they were excuses. But for him to say it out loud…

His gaze lowered and his eyebrows scrunched together as he frowned."…No."

"Hm?" the bluenette stared at his back quizzically as he too felt his brows furrow in confusion.

"I don't want to just accept it that way." His tone was serious now, and could be somewhat aggressive if you squint hard enough – this only added up to his best friend's bewilderment.

"Why not? It's normal."

"But…" he trailed off, unable to find anything to say out loud for his reason for the inability of acceptance of the probable fact he just said.

"But…?" after taking a good look at how conflicted the redhead was, Nagisa stifled a sigh and stared back up to the darkening clouds as he continued "For starters, why do you care so much about her in the first place?"

At this, Karma blinked and turned his head a little to his side which prodded the other to elaborate "It's not like you to be worked up this bad over a person. What has this girl done to you, and why is it so hard for you to just accept that that's the way you feel about her?" Nagisa had now leaned back on his arms and raised an eyebrow with the tilt of his head.

Once more, pale-gold orbs averted themselves to the opposite side of where his friend had stationed himself. But knowing all too well he can't run away from this question, could only let out a sigh and take a moment to gather his words and relay them honestly – he had learned to be able to do so in front of this particular fellow; after years of friendship, he'd come to trust his advice and count on him to keep some of his secrets.

"I've never had someone like her."

And yet again, the pigtailed boy had been told something he did not list in his expectations which had him unconsciously express his piqued interest by the sound of surprise he had created – it only increased when he took notice of the face he made while he talked about this person; in all honesty, he could've sworn that was the only time he saw him look that way from the time he'd known him. A mix of dozens of feelings all gathered into those inscrutable eyes and a smile whose emotion he could not comprehend.

"Someone that listened to me and stayed with me no matter what I did…made me feel so important in their life that I get urged to do things that can make a really…pleasant face." And then his expression faltered when he looked back to the time she poured out her feelings in front of him in the silence of a forest at night – despairing and pained eyes glinting under the moon from tears that blurred her glasses.

His lids lowered as a cynical smile came "And someone so nice…I'm afraid of hurting…She always thanks me for 'giving' her things, but she doesn't realize what she's given me." after another exhale from the weight of this conversation, he leaned back to try and relax himself – rubbing the back of his head with an indifferent front so as to make up for that rather unbecoming set of sentences from him due to his aloof character.

Nagisa didn't need to think too hard on this, but he had to take a moment for all of this to register completely and sink in. Karma, of all people, talking about a person in this manner – and now it was clear "I don't know what you think that is, but from a general perspective, and from how much I know you – basically, that's love."

A fist clenched itself upon a tiny patch of grass "But…I don't want to jump into conclusions."

"Oh well." Was all the blue-haired boy said back with a blank expression even with the obvious hint of self-conflict he had with that tone.

"That doesn't exactly help, Nagisa-kun."

"You're a pain in the neck when you're in love." He sounded smug for a while – to which Karma responded to with an irked grunt and just turned away like some immature child would when outwitted.

Honestly speaking, seeing him this way was a little funny – finally, he was the one getting a little entertainment out of his struggles. Not to mention, this was Kunugigaoka's finest here – smart, tactical and just plain talented; seeing him worked up over something common like this, one can only be so amused. But since he was not as callous as the redhead, and he knew well that this topic had had a weight on his friend for quite some time now judging from how he talked about it, he couldn't deny the concern he had for his friend.

"But…Like I said, what's keeping you from believing that?"

"I…" he trailed off for a bit and decided that instead of running his mouth, he'd allot some more time to put his mind around it.

Sure, he may have been important to her life, as she would always put it. He knew that she saw him as someone she couldn't ever repay and was always thankful for his deeds – however, there were many things he had done for her that were just to appease himself. There were many times where he only focused on his own feelings and his own wants when it came to her; and of course he knew all too well that he had a tendency to act on his own desires without paying much heed to others – and he was well aware of how bad it could get if he lost control of himself. And for her to endure all that…

"…Don't know if I'm the best for her. I mean, I don't want such a person…to suffer under my flaws." He let his head lower to the point where his red locks blocked whatever access anyone had to seeing whatever his expression was at the moment. He couldn't get his mind off that for a while – she didn't deserve that. He wouldn't forgive it if someone were to break her spirits – and that included himself since the day he had oh so selfishly avoided her and had caused her pain all because of his stubbornness.

His head came back up when Nagisa scoffed with a sly expression "What? Just because you're in love with someone you're immediately gonna get into a relationship?"

Karma had come to a small realization on how that thought had not crossed his mind as he felt his eyes widen out of how straightforward that had just been (and because of how humiliating it was for him to have only thought of that one option and did not let this idea come across) – no filter here in the 'Let's watch Karma go through emotional stress' boat; for Nagisa exclusively.

Soon enough, he recovered from his slightly startled state and averted his gaze – this topic was already disconcerting, especially for someone like him who wasn't at all into these problematic emotional talks.

"You know, I think I got it." The sudden change in his tone of voice didn't fail to get Karma's attention and had him look over his shoulder to find the other boy staring at him blankly, but with seriousness in his eyes; he wants him to listen to his next words – and the taller one obliged.

"You're scared of opening your heart to her. You're probably thinking 'what if it ends up breaking apart or let down if it goes free?' or something." Nagisa didn't let his stare stray away from the other's while he said this.

"You don't want… to feel that again." Blue eyes had gone half-lidded out of sympathy as he moved them back to the now more calm waters.

Meanwhile, those words had brought back a few memories to the redheaded delinquent – feelings of disappointment, of being crushed, of having trust played with; even until now he hadn't let go of those nasty sensations, but that was what made things clear to him now as he looked towards the now half-circle in the distance you would call the sunset with momentousness, but a sense of relaxation that had unexpectedly washed him over. If his best friend had not said it, then it would've taken longer for him to realize that fear of his – the main reason he hesitated all the time; it was another answer to why he couldn't accept that he had succumbed to such feelings.

Slowly, he could feel some of his troubles that day beginning to diminish – and just as he was starting to get his thoughts arranged, Nagisa spoke up again; but this time, there laced a sort of bitterness in his tone as if in reminiscence of a not so heartwarming memory.

"Do you feel…empty too?"

Karma perked up inconspicuously and yet again exerted enough effort to look back at his now glum smile as he had his knee atop his crossed arms upon his tucked knees. Blue eyes brimmed with heart-wrenching pain that held back feelings that weren't supposed to be fresh anymore, but it appears they still were to the feminine-like boy.

"So empty…it's been so hard to keep yourself going?" It was as if there were bags under his eyes that expressed the emotional torture he had gone through from the time it had all ended; and just remembering their times last year and all of the experiences he had gained there... Kunugigaoka, 3-E, assassination…

Korosensei…

"…Yeah." mercury orbs void of passion led themselves to the darkish sky as they took in blue-ish hues mixed in with gray clouds in his lean backwards.

"It felt like nothing out there…seemed worth it anymore." This statement had been worded out monotonously, but one could not deny the despondency in it that highlighted whatever devastation he felt on the day he lost what gave his life color.

Nagisa took a few moments to relieve how his nerves wracked about nearly uncontrollably just so he could continue to speak properly after a deep breath "You know, sometimes I'd ask myself…what was life before assassination classroom again? How did I spend my days as a student before I had to focus on saving the world?" his next statement sounded even more pained as his eyes narrowed to the last spots of sunshine he'd laid eyes upon since he'd woken up; watching as they leave forever for the rest of this day "What did I do…before it all began…and how am I supposed to get back to doing that?"

It was Karma's same feelings right off the bat as he felt his eyelids lower to almost the point where they were about to shut themselves "…Uh-huh."

"I'm sure we all had that same feeling since we've moved on." – what the bluenette didn't know is that not all had entirely left it behind and took their futures head on (i.e. the one next to him) "Even I…had a hard time taking it all in and just accepting the fact that it was all…over."

A silence came from the two whom shared the same sentiments and were probably about to wallow in their loss until the pigtailed one's voice came again "But then after thinking about it hard enough, and when I focused on the other things around me, I realized something." there was resolve laced in his tone albeit it being seemingly reserved as it had been stated with a hint of maturity from him, especially when he finished it up with-

"That…we've got our lives ahead of us"

Karma didn't even try stopping himself from shooting him with inquisitiveness that one way or another implored him to go on – where was the boy going to go with this new subject? What is it that he would like to relay by bringing this up all of a sudden? He'll have those curiosities answered soon enough as he straightened up from his lazed position; he didn't fail to notice how his expression changed into something he couldn't really put his finger around – but with the way those blue eyes happened to have some sort of resolve in them amidst all of the other bitter emotions, eventually, he found himself listening attentively. If he had something to say and Nagisa listened, it would only be right for him to lend an ear back – but it's not as if this talk had not caught his attention.

"We've got…the rest of our lives ahead of us." The feminine boy lifted himself from the grass and looked off to the distance as he let his clothes under the mercy of the pre-evening winds. "I just started thinking real hard. Maybe we _have_ gone through a lot and we may never find something as amazing as that again. But…we have our lives ahead of us." He repeated, as if to let it sink down hard and burn into both of their minds before he went on with sharing his philosophies with the red-haired boy.

"As we grow older, things get harder. What we've done in middle school, I'm sure it's no match for the everyday struggle of an adult who's gone past our level; like those who have it really hard because they worry about so many things and sacrifice time for themselves just to work and even take away the number of hours they sleep for the sake of themselves…but mostly for the sake of others." He stopped there for a while just to soften his expression as more of his bittersweet emotions piled up, especially with his next words as all the memories of the best time of his life would resurface.

"What middle school was, it was a stepping stone to our lives – we can't expect things to go our way all the time, we'll fall down, we'll fail, we'll reach a point with a knife by our necks and only given a few seconds to think of your way out, we'll be given targets to struggle with and take down. Sure, your problems might not involve professional assassins or weird scientific experiments you'd usually witness from dangerous adventuring, but it goes the same way." Another breath before he lifted his head slightly to observe how the clouds drifted by – it had for some reason reminded him of time itself and how it would glide by without remorse even if you feel yourself getting left behind; and it had also reminded him of the fact that he was forever a slave to it and forever will be under its mercy.

"Soon enough, we'll be adults that'll deal with things that are too big for us – no matter how normal they may be, no matter how clichéd or melodramatic it would come about to most people, the problem still remains unless you figure out a way to get through it; it's how you deal with it and how you choose to do it for people around you. If I continued thinking that there was nothing left for me, then I'm sure it would've stayed that way." Nagisa closed his eyes for a second to somehow let the tranquility of the scenery ease his heavy heart even while he spouted all of these ideals out.

"I like to think that there's something more for me even if it's not as extreme as assassination and Kunugigaoka was. Maybe…that's what Korosensei wished for most." Saying the name brought a throbbing pain to his heart, but even still, he endured that amount of hurt and went on "That year was a stepping stone to the real world, and we were provided with the best teachers there were...the ones that knew its dark corners far too well... He wanted us to know how much it hurt to be an adult with big responsibilities and sacrifices to be made – and with assassination he'd been training us how to do deal with them. Even if I'd dreamed of becoming an assassin, I'm pretty sure that wasn't what he was going for."

Now that he had gotten that out of his chest, he managed to create a small smile as he watched the orange circle of light that was now well on its way to hiding itself from their side of the world "It wasn't just about danger or assassination, that year…It took me time to let it all sink in myself. No matter what…we have to keep ourselves going and go with change. Class E had hope because of that. No matter what…we have to keep an eye at what's in front of us…otherwise…we might end up getting taken out." He spoke from his own experience back in that strange classroom – he had well taken in the things he had learned from the things he had gone through and was successfully able to apply it to his new morals and views on the world.

"No matter how skilled we are, or how amazing the things we've gone through were, there will be things that reality will bring that will be too much for you…And that's what we have waiting for us ahead. Or…I'd like to look at it that way. After all, I'm still a minor with limited experience – I can't always say for sure." Nagisa's smile spread a little more at the thought of him still being young enough to experience even more things – in fact, he looked forward to learning the things his life was ready to give him so much that he found himself reaching for the evening sky that had begun to harbor tiny, faint twinkles of light with his right hand; quite similar to that of a child who can only be left to wonder what sort of mysteries there were in the world. And as he did this, a sense of yearning had become evident in his voice as the last bits of orange reflected against his distant, azure orbs.

"I…kind of want to grow up soon…"

Karma knew that he had concluded this with that last sentence. And surely enough, he had let those words linger about in his pool of thoughts; in fact they were the only things in his mind as of late as he too had come to change his views on the world – he could slowly feel that hilarious dilemma he had always brought with him since the day he graduated Kunugigaoka dissipate and be replaced with a new emotion; a new urge that took away whatever immature outlooks he had for the most part of the year. And with that, his head cleared – he found something that changed inside of him; he couldn't really pinpoint what it was, for all he was aware of was that he was no longer going to return to thinking of the world that way and had things he may be able to look forward to now. He blinked slowly as a stifle smile crept up to his features; really, that boy really knew how to set him straight when he needed it. Unconsciously, he thought back to his talk with a certain brunette and how it had somehow come to connect itself with what Nagisa had his head around.

_'I want to be prepared for whatever life throws at me, after all.'_

"Growing up, huh…"

Just as the two of them had somehow concluded their heartfelt talk, right on cue, a very familiar, jolly voice came from behind them – and just by hearing it they could practically feel themselves getting snapped back to the present reality they existed in.

"Nagisa! Karma-kun!"

* * *

"I wonder if this is okay…"

It wasn't so dark out yet – the sky was yet to take on a darkish hue and had not let its secret lights reveal their full glory as of the current time, but there's no mistaking that it will happen; however, since it wasn't such a late hour, two snipers had come to an agreement that they would pay a visit to their club's introverted character after they had come from a summer festival and departed from it with nearly every prize in hand _again_ – and yes, they got kicked out again.

Being that they hadn't seen her in a while due to her constant refusal of their offers to hang out during the break, Rinka had suggested for them to stop by even if it's just brief for she had taken the time to win the girl a stuffed toy from one of the shooting stalls; which she currently held in her arms and eyed it with worry – it wasn't such an extravagant gift; it was just a Domo-kun plushie with a nerdy theme for it had a pair of dorky glasses and a lab coat which she thought befitted the receiver's personality and so she had won it. However, the closer she got to the apartment complex, the more an unnecessary anxiety had grown at the pit of her stomach.

Chiba on the other hand had been quite relaxed for the most time – most probably because he was able to spend a day with her and that there wasn't anything to be so agitated about, as opposed to the girl next to him whose emerald eyes were clouded in uncertainty. He sighed "I doubt she'll mind if you got her anything at all."

"But I never got to thank her properly for helping me…" there was sincerity in her voice, one that had brought a small smile to her usually stoic features as the pigtailed girl thought back on the time she had got into an emotional mess. But almost as immediately as that simper came to view, a look of worry had replaced it as she sharply turned to the taller boy "Do I look desperate that way? I'm not being really clingy of creepy or anything, am I?" something about how she said that in such a fast tone and how blue lines appeared to have come down her left eye told him that the cause of her distraught was her fear of turning out to be like a particular light-haired girl she had recently gotten herself befriended with. She must have been so afraid of that that it bugged her to no end judging by that amount of fear.

He had to stop himself from sighing again at how she was being so needlessly problematic on this matter "No, stop worrying about it. She'll cherish it either way, you know that much, right?"

Rinka didn't take too long to respond to this with a smile before she nodded – knowing all too well why she got her a prize in the first place. "Mhm…"

Chiba returned a small grin of his own "Then calm down. Just act like yourself and give it to her like you mean it…" his genuine smile had turned into one of tease when he said his next sentence "But not too much like yourself."

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?" the orange-head somewhat glared at him after he had most probably indirectly insulted her.

"Nothing." He mused just to see her irked expression when she said "Eh?" with some threat in her eyes.

He let out a barely audible chortle before placing a hand into one of the pockets of his long, brown shorts "In any case, how'd you get her address?"

She was back to being quite the monotonous character as she didn't waste a second in replying "Nakamura told me."

"Nakamura did?" he tilted his head a tad as they had reached the elevator of the building. He spared a few moments of silence wondering how the blond girl had gotten her address in the first place until he suddenly got a feeling in his stomach telling him he didn't need to know – they were talking about class E's Gal English here, after all.

Just as he brushed away the concern, another thought regarding the golden-crowned trickster and his companion had come to mind "Speaking of Nakamura, why don't you call her by her first name like she does?"

"I will only ever call her Nakamura and that's that." Was all Rinka said – she didn't even spare him a glance. Albeit knowing that they still had quite the rocky relationship, it bemused him to see how the orange-haired girl talked about her for he couldn't quite grasp exactly _how_ she saw her. Did she consider her as a friend or as someone too unbelievable to even call it that? Either way, he still didn't know what kind of relationship those two shared.

"Why?"

"Don't ask me stupid questions."

If anyone could see his eyes then he would have rolled them after she said this. But instead of biting back for he knew her all too well, he just smiled knowingly at his tsundere girlfriend-but-not as they approached the white door by the balcony with the three numbers 560 inscribed upon it.

"This it?" Chiba inquired for confirmation and had been answered with a nod.

"That's what it said in the address…" Rinka studied the place for a while – it wasn't what one would deem notable, it was just another apartment in the gigantic city of Tokyo; but somehow the female sniper had started to grasp an understanding of the bespectacled girl's living environment and how it was not surprising that the results were what she saw everyday in school.

"So Manami lives in a place like this..." she muttered, gaze not straying away from the white door as she pushed through with her observations and internal comments on it. So this is where the probable angel she thought she was back then resided…

After hearing that come out of her mouth, something had unintentionally come to mind _'Oh so you call her by her first name but not Nakamura.'_ – he still couldn't let go of how confusing she found the two's affiliation was.

"Chiba…knock." The command had been so out-of-the-blue he had to turn to her direction and see if he caught that right.

"Hah?"

"_Knock._" Her shoulders were shuddering from pointless nervousness that had also been manifested by the way her face looked at the moment – her mouth quivered and her eyes were wide as a blue-purplish shade had taken over the upper part of her endlessly sweating face. If anything, she resembled a notorious ghost right now for her complexion had become as pale as the guilty souls that trudge through the fields of punishment.

After this, Chiba heaved an exhausted sigh – even with all that reassurance just from earlier she's still fidgety; but he couldn't blame her, it was her first time doing something (society-wise) generally friendly knowing she was anti-social to the point where she'd have times where she didn't care about how others felt and/or times wherein she overthought about how they felt too much she became a hopeless mess – right now it was the latter (which was a big pain in the neck).

Just as he was about to let his knuckles come in contact with the door, a few other, lively and muffled voices came from the other side – he didn't even have time to react to this for by the time he actually took into account this observation, the door had been pulled ajar by two people he did not expect to see that day waving their farewells to the shorter girl (whom he caught surprisingly wearing a dress).

"E-Eh?!"

"Heh?!"

"Uh—!"

And right when the other two had realized whom they had just run into, the three girl's pairs of different colored eyes went wide with utter shock as they each reacted accordingly to their expressions and simultaneously exclaimed "Eh?!" at each other – although Rinka's had been delivered quite chokingly as for more than she was shocked to see that they weren't the only ones that came to visit, it had to be Rio who she ran into. Why? For one thing she came here to give a thank you gift; that equals to a ton of teases from the cheeky blond if she were to find out about that, and lastly is because she was generally here, that the blue-orbed girl had many reasons to start jeering at her.

As this happened, Chiba remained calm and only moved his attention from the three girls that froze in place, then to the other, much shorter one who had also been at quite the bewilderment from their sudden visit, and then towards another character that looked to be shocked by something else entirely.

Head turning to directly stare at the braided girl with his usual stoic demeanor, he bluntly asked "You live with Inari-sensei?"

Two seconds later, Inari slapped a hand to her face.

* * *

The night came with a relatively cool temperature.

Upon a narrow street that stretched by an almost infinite river, a fairly tall boy let his relaxed feet tap upon the rather smooth material as a dark sky that brimmed with twinkling lights of different shapes, sizes and glows enveloped the town in a remedying type of darkness and hovered above the lazed form of a boy with scarlet locks. Occasional winds would drift by and have Goosebumps take over his skin, but it did not affect how he had stretched his arms and rested them on the top of his red head in the carefree fashion he was well known by his friends and enemies for. Mercury eyes locked with the uncountable number of natural sparks that had the dark-blue dome far above his reach look quite appalling – clouds were swirled in a fantastical manner that harmonized with how nature decided to let that eternally crescent moon take all of the sky's glory by how its light reflected on the same body of water he had gotten an eyeful of not too long ago.

Although he had taken the time to finally look at such trivial things with something other than bore on his features, his memories of the events today remained incessant in his whirlpool of thoughts that swam around in his head – albeit such being incessant, they did not trouble his mind, for they were quite the pleasant recollections. Today he had started with despondency and uncertainty; feelings that were made so since the day his eyes had showered the world with distaste, but such had disappeared with the last warm light of the day. He was beginning to rethink about things as the words of two blue-orbed people would repeat themselves over and over in his silent walk back to his ever-vacant home.

_No matter what…we have to keep an eye at what's in front of us…_

By the corner of his eye, something green could be spotted flowing elegantly with the gentle river winds. With the slow turn of his head ever so slightly, he caught sight of a pair of braids tied with white flying off to the side just as gracefully as did the spearmint dress – the thin ribbon that gave a little design to the simplicity of this plain set of clothing danced with the breeze freely, held back by nothing as cool air entered through the spacious parts of the girl's outfit.

He didn't need to guess who it was even if he could only see her back side from quite a distance. She was just standing there, to the upper right, below him just by the river with her head turned upwards – where the crescent light had plastered itself upon the heavens and reflected upon her spectacles. Once he had taken all of these observations in, he stopped walking and rested his arms to his sides.

_We all look for something to hold dear. When we realize it, that's when we take a step forward._

"What are you doing out here?" his feet crunched on the grass as he approached her casually – a polite smile gracing his face when she turned around to find him positioned about a meter and a half directly behind her with his hands hidden by his pockets.

Manami beamed back at him and entangled her fingers behind her in the process of her properly facing him "Oh, Karma-kun. Did you enjoy your day?"

Karma shrugged and made his way to her side while he replied blithely "Well, I guess so."

"That's good to hear…" her expression softened before she reverted her focus to the moon that appeared to be a lot closer to them tonight with the big size they could see it from even with it directly above the faint, city lights of the other side of the town. Admiration brimmed in those ebullient purple orbs as she took in the serene sight with pleasure before she sprung up a conversation.

"You know…a lot of people came over today." There was a gentleness and kindhearted tone in her voice that didn't fail to grab the redhead's attention – especially when he glanced to his right where she had on a tender expression and slowly blinked; as if she was breathing in the scenery and letting it fill her chest with a warm feeling. Manami took his lack of a response as an opportunity to continue "I...I had lots of fun. By the end of the day…I found myself feeling really…" her small hands came up to her chest "Really happy. I started thinking about how I could never ask for better friends, or anything at all because of how content I felt. 'This is what happiness feels like?' or so I would ask myself. Everyone in class E is…really amazing huh…" The shine in her eyes quivered with emotion as she kept them trained on the moon that bathed the two teen's faces in a bright, white light.

Karma smiled at this expression – finding it pleasant before he too faced the view "So? What is it that brought you here this time?" he stated this in almost the same way his senior did when she asked him almost the exact same question as his countenance became soft.

The dark-haired girl's smile stretched a little more before she lowered her gaze down to the water that nearly touched her slippers "I was looking for some fish."

"Hm? For what?" he let his eyeballs move to the side to display her with a bit of curiosity.

Manami's eyelids lowered at the tender memory of the short time she spent today with her beloved friends, and all of the things she felt along with it be they embarrassment, uncertainty or bliss "After today…I had a thought." She paused just to somehow emphasize her next words "That I wanted Manaka to have a friend."

She stepped to the side and let her hands tie themselves behind her back as she let herself face the taller boy properly – eyes holding immense benevolence as they locked with his pale-gold ones for he had also turned to her properly; with the gentle waves of the water that let the bright light dance about to their side, and the memorable moon that hung above their heads in the background, she spoke with utmost earnest-

"I'm sure Manaka…doesn't really like the idea of being alone." With the way her tone sounded, he knew deep down that she was referring to both of them as well – once he had realized this, he kept his features unfazed, yet inscrutable as he only gazed back at her for the following moments while his thoughts took over his actions again. So even in a day where he was absent for the most time, she still thought about him. And Nagisa's words resounded-

_I don't know what you think that is, but from a general perspective, and from how much I know you – basically,_

_That's love._

"Oh! I think I found one!" he had been cut from his trance by her cheery voice – by the time he regained his senses, his eyes laid upon her crouched form as her bright eyes searched the waters from a little farther away than where she had been.

Before he went over to approach her, another smile came to his face – this time it held an emotion he knew he didn't display to just anyone as the look in his eyes had no ounce of anything other than genuineness "Really?" he answered as he crouched down by the water, just right next to her.

"Hm…" she put her palms to her cheeks as studious eyes traveled through the water in search for the little creature, taking into account that it's dark and she couldn't really see well what's in the water, a small pout came to her features "I don't think it'll come back though…" the pout quickly disappeared for it had been replaced with a sheepish beam when she faced him "I must be an idiot for trying to look for one at night, I guess." a lighthearted giggle came out after that.

Karma's eyes didn't tear away from her expression as she continued to smile up at him – however, his own had shifted into one of blankness and mystique while he remained silent for seconds.

Manami was not prepared for the tone she suddenly got from him when he finally made a sound – his voice was low, and it had absolutely no spec of a joke; she'd only seen him this serious for less than the number of fingers she had on one hand, resultantly, her full attention was offered to him.

"Hey…I have something to tell you…will you listen?" his hair draped over his eyes even with its movement created by the wind – preventing himself from looking at the girl in the eye or displaying his face to her.

Lavender eyes didn't falter as they kept themselves locked on his form and had a hunch that he yearned for an answer from her – almost desperately even, as if he'd come to her for aid so that he may ease whatever troubles he had. Feeling a little pained seeing him this way, and so she answered with a slightly serious tone of her own "Karma-kun is precious to me…"

Once those words had registered, a choked sound of surprise emanated from him as mercury eyes went wide and sharply came back up to meet with her sincere pair of purple – he even failed to notice the proximity between their faces when he did so for her statement had given him quite the surge of electricity that pulsated through his body; nearly having it turn numb.

"Karma-kun is precious to me…of course I'll listen to him." Not even Manami minded the fact that they were practically inches away from each other as she only focused on reassuring him with comforting, resolved eyes that glossed against the lights both from the moon and the other smaller radiances provided to them by the city as her glasses reflected against the starlit sky – it was almost as if her eyes had their own type of sparkle to them for a moment. Karma was left at a tongue-tie when he let this image burn itself to his mind unconsciously – his expression of shock had yet to waver as a rush of thoughts slammed against the walls of his mind; but with the thankful support of what was left of his self-awareness, he managed to freeze in place before he let such thoughts take his entire person over.

She displayed him another beam after the reaction "You're my dearest friend. You can tell me anything."

_If a girl calls you a friend and you don't like it, it's the first sign of love!_

"Hah. Guess that bastard's right." Karma felt a grin grace his face before he lifted himself from his crouched position and had prepared to leave the area as he walked away with his hands back into his pockets casually – such an action had left Manami to a frantic state of confusion however as he heard her shuffle to her feet and try to follow him after a startled "Eh?"

Her light yet fast-paced footsteps crunched against the moist soil in his pursuit "Karma-kun? What did you want to say?"

The abrupt halt in his steps had obliged her to do the same as there was now about a two meter distance between them directly. Karma stepped to the side to have a look at her and presented her with yet another sincere smile that held a deeper emotion to it that Manami couldn't quite comprehend, especially when he responded to her with his usual, calm tone "No need."

"Hm?"

"If I were to tell you, we'd become distant." He rose a finger to the side of his mouth "So instead of doing that, I'll keep it a secret until I feel like telling you…" he cherished another moment of gazing at her quizzical eyes as they blinked in question – he made it a point to take in how her braids floated with notable grace, and he didn't forget to eye those white bands he was all too familiar of now. The sight he let his mercury orbs linger upon for a longer while only seemed to have become lovelier to him now that he took full notice of how much the spearmint cloth that waved itself with the wind befitted her perfectly. Unknowingly, he found his memories piling up one by one.

_'You don't exactly have a reason to be with me so wouldn't you rather spend time with someone else or doing something much more enjoyable?'_

_'I—Tomorrow I'm going to do my best.'_

_'…I…never got to thank him...'_

_'Aaah! I can't understand it no matter how many times I think it through!'_

Her crying face, her embarrassed face, her face when she's uncertain, the face she makes when she cares too much about others, and finally-

_'Pretty…'_

And with a warm smile and an affectionate look in his eye, he finished his sentence

"…Manami."

…

_Badump_

With a warm and throbbing sensation spreading across her chest both painfully and blissfully, Manami's eyes steadily grew wide – and as they did so, the shine in her orbs polished around in a circular motion as several emotions inside of her seemed to had burst and had her body stiffen in place; limbs numb and immobile. And as an effect of the sound of her given name coming from his lips, she sensed heat rise to her cheeks and was left to stare back at him – absolutely dumbstruck.

Karma – feeling a little pleased with the reaction – had another tender, genuine smile reach his lips; though this time it had been out of his control, it just came out of instinct of some sorts. Without another word, he bid her good night and departed from the area as nonchalantly as he came.

The bespectacled girl's dress just went with the wind as she only stayed there, still frozen from that as her heart raced with new feelings she didn't understand one bit.

* * *

_Summer break has reached its end…_

"So, is everyone ready?" A blond haired girl cleared her throat as she stood by a small wooden table with individual drinks atop it – that was frankly spacious enough for six students to have themselves seated around in whatever position they found comfortable as they had their full attention to their so-called spokesperson for this significant day (since she insisted) they had planned for the proposals regarding the salvation of their club. The sun outside had taken on a bright color that let itself inside the small area and bathed it in an energetic yet somehow cozy atmosphere that was apparently befitting for this fine afternoon – as Rio put it.

"Yeah, but first…" a spiky-haired boy did not even try to hide his discomfort from the sweatdrop he made when he looked over to the maroon-haired middle aged woman he had always seen as intimidating that leaned upon the nearby refrigerator with her arms crossed and a soda can in hand. He moved his head to the petite girl positioned right beside him "I didn't know you lived with her of all people, Okuda…"

Manami only laughed lightly out of the awkwardness that had been brought with her friends deciding to hold this event in her home (she lost a coin toss against Chiba). Rinka, whom only looked stoic outwardly, was apparently hooked on this secret judging from the way her eyes glistened with some sort of rainbow color for a second – much to the dark-haired boy sitting next to her's discomfort for he was still in the process of getting the reason for that reaction through his head.

"Leave me alone." Inari had finally reached the point where she didn't care about getting found out anymore by anyone her co-resident was affiliated with as she gulped down her can of fizzy carbonated drink, clearly unamused. I mean, do they really have to say 'of all people'?

Suddenly sensing a disturbance, and a gut feeling that she was about to be made an object of derision of, the older woman stomped her foot and aggressively pointed to the other redheaded character in the room whom sat back in his chair like he owned the place sharply – a smug look was present on his (to Inari) stupid face as she warned him angrily "YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING!"

Once more, Manami gave the two a look saying 'these two are hopeless' as they threw a brief glare-fest. Eventually Inari performed the 'mature decision' and left the area for them to attend to their official business like a **respectful** person – as she put it before she completely departed the room.

Rio had to clear her throat once more to grab the full club's focus back on her – a hand rested on her hip as she stood with her feet apart in some kind of superior fashion as she stood above everyone else (They're all sitting down). "Okay so I'll get this out of the way before we begin..." the blond abruptly pointed to the side of the table where a lazy delinquent and an introverted chemist sat beside each other with a displeased frown – similar to how a teacher would passively scold her students "You're both on penalty roll." She said with a 'hmph' afterwards that only had the taller boy raise an eyebrow and the girl become quite agitated for she was not exactly familiar with the term and found it quite frightening.

"P-Penalty Roll?"

"Yep." Rio nodded with a stoic expression as her arms had crossed over her chest "Neither of you contributed much to this so we all had a vote – Penalty Roll. You basically can't refuse anything we tell you to do for a week or so." She shrugged at her last sentence as if she hadn't just announced something that would probably doom them, especially Manami – seeing as it was Nakamura Rio that issued this, to 'basically can't refuse anything we tell you to do', would mean she's got her fill of entertainment for the following week.

_'Ehhhh?'_ they seemed to have thought at the same time as the two who had been penalized could only watch on with slight befuddlement as everyone nodded in sync like some council of the board meeting in a real gigantic company. How against them were they that they would agree to have Rio bring about their torment? Then again, Karma didn't really mind since he could just play with her in his own game eventually and let a smirk grace his face.

The light-haired girl had all of a sudden become enthusiastic after she presented a satisfied smirk – she could already imagine what she could do given her right over them for the first week (unless Karma outwits her which she fears the most) "Okay! Now we get to real business! Rinka~" with a smile that stretched from ear to ear, the English veteran held her hand out to where the pigtailed sniper stationed herself now with a folder in hand that everyone else in the room eyed with curiosity and anticipation.

After Rinka had placed the folder on the table for everyone to have a glimpse of their general plan, the other members immediately got to their feet just to gather around it and study it with eagerness.

Yuzuki put a hand to her chin as she criticized the suggestion with furrowed brows and pinkish orbs brimming with critique "Hm…Combat Club's Hide &amp; Seek Shrine…? Horror labyrinth…? With…" she had a few looks of doubt until she appeared to have read the rest that had her expression light up with immense wonder after gasp "Rio-chan!"

"Ohh, good work Hayami." Karma was the next to react to this with an impressed smile – which was hard to get out of him most of the time so that was a plus for the two girls who took the time to put it together.

Sugino, Manami and Chiba followed by exchanging grins of astonishment with each other as the three had a powerful feeling that this was going to turn out outstanding with their skills and experiences as Kunugigaoka's former Class E

Observing their positive reactions, Rio and Rinka snickered proudly before the former kept a smirk on as she said "Of course that's still the general idea, so we can make it even better with everyone's individual suggestions – and I'm sure we can do that without fail."

"I'm already hyped! The set-up's gonna be a big challenge, but that's what I love about it!" Yuzuki, whom thoroughly studied the single piece of paper, had a glint in her eyes that expressed all possible ecstasy she was capable of giving out in her lifetime as she already formed lots of plans in her noggin.

"Thank you very much, Yuzuki-chan~ But that's not the most important part." Rio's statement had everyone rest themselves back on their seats but kept their gazes etched to where the two light-haired girls were with quizzicality. After the aforementioned girls exchanged a nod, Rinka took the initiative to relay the idea to them with a tiny yet genuine smile you'd only rarely see from her.

"Your suggestions will be taken into account of course, but what we wouldn't want to change is the one who's going to star in it." Emerald eyes traveled over to one side of the table; and soon enough, everyone gathered at the table followed the direction of her stare.

Once she had realized six pairs of eyes were on her, Manami had immediately become flustered as her hands started to wave about in front of her vigorously after the jerk of her shoulders "E-E-E-E-EH?! M-M-M-ME?! F-For something a-as important as thi—"

She was silenced by the blond who had swiped a hand in front of her as if to tell her to zip it before she crossed her arms "You're on penalty roll. You can't refuse. And besides," a grin came to her face as she prodded Rinka to continue her sentence with the wink of her eye.

"If we knew you couldn't do it, we wouldn't have given it to you." She attempted to assure the tense girl knowing that this was the response she'd get from her once they were to say this out loud.

"B-But—" Manami tried to reason out, but to her dismay, she had not been heeded for her otaku friend had not given her the chance to.

"No complaints here~!" Yuzuki swayed her hand to the side swiftly as a gesture to just prove her remark.

"Yu-Yuzuki-chan I don't think I—"

"Let's do it then!" She was cut off again, this time by Sugino whom lifted himself from his chair in a lively fashion as he now truly looked pumped for the cultural festival with the resolute fist he curled in front of him.

"But what if I—"

"I'm game for it." Chiba's ever-stoic voice rang louder – it appears he was also in on keeping her from arguing with them; but it would be a big lie to say he didn't trust Okuda could do it with flying colors.

But even with the number of times she had been hushed by their keen exclamations, Manami found herself not being able to allow for such a thing to be put upon her as she got up from her seat in a desperate attempt for them to hear her out; but even as she spoke, all they returned to her were sly smirks "P-Please wait a moment! Th-This is a really _really_ important thing to everyone! If I end up failing I'll—"

"Then," the overfamiliar, carefree voice of the red-haired boy still seated laxly next to her caught the attention of the impish members and the petite-framed girl in a distraught state whom now stared at him with mild surprise for he had been quite silent for a while now.

"All you have to do is make sure you don't."

The other five kept their smirks on as a sign of agreement to everything their president relayed to their (unofficial title) 'club mother' for it was their exact same thoughts and it was what each of them wanted her to be aware of.

Seeing as they were all listening to him now, he let that trademark smile of his come to view as he eyed the girl sagaciously "Everyone here's up for it because they're aware of what you can do, so instead of worrying about not being able to do it and letting everyone here down, just gladly take it and make sure you don't let everyone's effort go to waste." He spared her a reassuring grin as he propped his elbow onto the table and rested his cheek on his palm – all the while having a confidence present in his sharp eyes "And I'm sure you can do at least that much, Manami."

Purple eyes only blinked as their owner let those words sink in and register in her train of thought – and after glancing at each and every one of their determined faces one more time, Manami presented them with her own expression of resolute as both of her fists came to her chest as she managed a strong-willed tone and faced them all with conviction.

"Th-Then! I'll do my best!"

Brimming with contentment, the club members responded to this dauntlessness with the relaxation of their shoulders from the tense energy they had just come from as more smiles were exchanged – they were up and about for their cultural fest plans and they counted on each other to keep it from failing; and they were certain that they'd be able to create something extravagant if they worked with the same resolve.

Now that the golden-haired girl's wish had seemed to come true, a toothy grin came to her bright and peppy face "Yay~"

…

Three girls appeared to have come to the same realization for each of them had abruptly reacted violently with eyeballs shrunk out of pure and utter shock at what just entered their ears – starting with Rio who stepped backwards to Rinka who nearly choked on her drink to Yuzuki who nearly fell off her chair.

"MA-?!"

"NA-?!"

"MI?!"

Karma found himself taking delight in seeing their absolutely disturbed reactions and decided to tease them even more by leaning back on the dining chair and showing them a wry grin as he raised an eyebrow – which they took as a threat for the trio had almost the same expressions when they narrowed their eyes at him suspiciously with dark intent evident with the aura they gave out.

Pleased that he had made himself a threat to them and their friendship with the spectacled girl now seated beside him (no one was able to take notice of the small tints of red on her face when the topic had come to that though), he eased his sadistic pleasures by keeping them hanging and changing the subject "Well then, shouldn't we carry on? It's Fuwa-san and Sugino's turn right?"

Apparently, even Sugino had to snap back to his senses because the sudden change of his friend's acknowledgement to the raven-haired girl had brought him into a state of his own "O-Oh right! Fuwa-san!" he had to wait for her to regain some of her composure before he signaled her with a nod.

"R-R-Roger…" she seized a few more seconds to narrow her eyes at the red-haired delinquent one more time – although she needed more time to recover and get some of her thoughts straight after that surprising event, she had to reluctantly brush the topic away and reached for her bag.

When she had a touch of the plastic bag she had used to wrap around the poster she and her art partner were able to devise with as much creativity as they can (not to mention endurance). The artists had to admit that they may have been looking forward to this day too much – heck, it was hard to not just splat it on their faces the moment they were finished with it. So right after she unwrapped the door-sized poster from its containment, she and Sugino stationed themselves in the space where Rio had once been as it was their time to shine them with their idea.

Yuzuki cleared her throat (to which Rio responded to with a subtle 'copycat') before she put her palms around the round material with a little bit of anxiousness but mostly excitement for her fingers nearly stiffened even with the remains of hot weather still present. "Well, our club's about specialty, right? So…we did a little something that can express that we have our differences but still capture our 'identity' as a club – or so Isura-senpai said so." Pinkish orbs faced her partner's blue ones again with steadfastness before a nod was exchanged.

"Well then, hope you guys like it!" and with that last exclamation, the poster had been rolled down with a _fwop_ – and it only took a moment for each of them to react as their faces lit up.

Karma on the other hand, felt his smile fade away and eyes widen when they came in contact with the all-too-familiar smiling face of a yellow octopus he once knew far too well – the one that truly died on him and left him in a rut when his tentacles no longer crawled upon the same floor he did. All else within the room had come to a bittersweet atmosphere as they had their gazes etched onto the big smile they missed so dearly in awe and in reminiscence – some of which had to hold back their tears, like Rio

"Yu-Yuzuki-chan…" she had to stop her voice from sounding brittle as she let a hand travel to her mouth just by how touched she was.

"This is…" Rinka simply couldn't find words to describe how much this poster had to be perfect for them – that, and because she too had been struck with several emotions she just couldn't let go of.

The helmet-headed girl had a mirthful smile stretch across her features as she too had to prevent herself from getting shiny-eyed at this for she was the one who presented it in the first place "We used hologram paper and a few more tricks up our sleeves so we can get the faces to change when under a different light or where you're standing since it depends on the angle you look at it which face he makes."

The poster was simple at first glance – it was basically her best teacher's face on a shiny paper that had the Kanji of Combat Club on the bottom But the main magic of this design came from the touch they had put with the hologram paper and whatnot for whenever you tilted it or shifted the angle, a new face of the best guy they've ever known would show; it was all so nostalgic to the members that they were all caught with their stares glued to it, and Yuzuki didn't mind holding it for them longer either.

Sugino crossed his arms and showed them a smile before his eyes went off to a distance "…It took a lot of time trying to get this together – we weren't sure how many times we had to experiment just to get all nine of them to show. We were sure there were more he would've made but…"

"It's okay, Sugino." Chiba had finally made his presence known, a clear joy in his voice which was a rare occurrence as he continued and spoke in behalf of everyone else who couldn't bring themselves to tear away from the picture.

"I'm sure we all know...you guys did an amazing job."

A moment was shared by these seven students as they relished in the fun memories they could now only look back to as they drowned themselves into the bittersweetness of it all once more – albeit the heart-wrenching pain, the six of them kept a smile on.

"Very much appreciated." Sugino ended it with a nod of gratitude for his clubmates and former classmates as they all shared another few seconds just to keep this feeling in their hearts for a while since it had been so long – even if it has only been less than a year, just being reminded of that part of their lives brought them into quite the emotional ride.

Karma appeared to be the only one that locked his stare at it with a blank expression that could almost be dismissed as a frown or an evidently bitter countenance. Since he'd laid eyes on the poster, his memories from the year he never let go of came just like everyone else – only, it reminded him of how his life now was; how it lacked anything interesting from the way he saw it. For a second there, his mood was about to die and it was almost as if he was going to revert back to that miserable dilemma of his until a gentle, yet fervent voice came from next to him.

"It's Koro-sensei…"

Manami had her hands clasped together as a sad beam graced her pale face – unable to take her shiny, purple eyes that were on the verge of collapsing into a tearful mess away from the source of everyone's happiest memories with each other. And had he not looked at her, he would not have recalled the resolution he had cleared up on that night.

_…that was the start of my clear road. We all look for something to hold dear. When we realize it, that's when we take a step forward._

_We have...the rest of our lives ahead of us. _

If he just went back to viewing the world the way he did, that would mean he'd learned nothing at all and remained an immature child that couldn't jump to the next stone on the river because he simply couldn't let go of the one he was on. He wasn't about to just take for granted what he had found to keep himself going; the very thing that finally gave him a clear enough path to start with – so with that, he also tried a smile of his own as he faced the poster with the new bravery to tell himself that it's all in the past now; that he'd moved on from that stage of his life and it was on to the next one.

Starting with his feelings for the frail girl sitting beside him.

"Yeah. It is."

* * *

And they were lively again after they had unusually have become silent all of a sudden.

Inari, satisfied with the happiness in this house, went over to one of the hallways of her home after making sure the kids were busy. It wasn't dim, the window just on the right side gave the wooden floor small patches of golden light that were bright enough to reveal to her a cabinet that waited for her at the end of the corridor in this particular hallway where a cabinet had itself waiting for her at the end of it – it was the one that her daughter-like figure had grown too scared of touching due to an experience from back then that she would rather not have resurface at the moment as she sauntered toward it.

With a barely audible creek, she gently pulled one door open and found the briefcase she had assigned Manami to get for her – just looking at it brought distasteful memories, but she kept a stoic demeanor and gently grabbed in anyway just to find the things she needed for some governmental requirements and whatnot. It was such a trouble to have to get it from all the way there when she was sure she wouldn't have needed any of it anymore since they were eyesores to her, but had she not been pestered by insolent social workers and custody blahblahs and had not sent for it, she wouldn't have been aware of the passing of someone important to her.

"Ah, so he died already, huh…" the image of the old man Miho she had once known resurfaced for a brief moment although she had not looked back on that part of her life for the longest time – she'd almost forgotten how he looked like due to the fact she practically abandoned those memories. But even when knowing this, she still remained composed as she looked through the briefcase and only took what she needed – she wouldn't want to keep being reminded of her life eleven years ago and how everything went downhill back then. Just to endure looking through all of this again was a drag but…

Inari heaved a sigh "…You saw it?"

He didn't expect her to be able to sense his presence there leaned on the wall with hands casually inserted in his pockets, but this woman had her surprising points too. Karma didn't really think he could get away without being caught so his surprise to him being found out was short-lived – that, and there was a bigger matter on his mind right now.

"…Are you going to tell me about it?"

She kept her back as the only thing facing him as she shut the case closed - extra careful not to let a certain other in this house come to where they were "If I were to tell you…

It wouldn't make a difference."

* * *

**YAY~! NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT OUT OF THE WAY, I'LL JUST GIVE A BIG HAND TO MYSELF FOR SURPRISINGLY EXERTING MORE EFFORT FOR THIS! You don't necessarily have to clap for me for this chapter though X'3  
**

**Well anyway, I'd like to just say that since this chapter's pretty packed with events, It'd be VERY much appreciated if you were to leave some detailed reviews! I mean, it's really motivating and it gets me to review my writing skills often. And because I love detailed reviews, it makes me feel very grateful to you guys for reading and kind of proud of my writing since I work so hard at it X'3 Just you know if it's not too much trouble, you can leave however long a review you want for this chapter so that's fine! It's just very much appreciated if you do so though!**

**OH AND WITH SUMMER ENDING WE MOVE TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARCS: Cultural Festival!**

**Oh before I get to the preview, I'd like to ask a question that you can answer only if you want ^3^: Who do you think is the most potential Kouhai of Mai-senpai amongst all of the combat club members? Just Curious! Owo I may have thought of something so I'm just wondering who you think can be Isura's closest Junior ^w^**

**OKAY! THIS CHAPTER'S LONG ENOUGH LET'S GET TO THE PREVIEW!**

** NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW: What You Are To Me (Kimii Annual School Grand Fiesta)**

**WELCOME TO THE KIMII ANNUAL MERRY HIGH SCHOOL FESTIVAL! With clubs getting ready with their gears and specialties, we're in for one hell of a blast! Especially with the new addition of a special club with quite the SPECIAL members! Oh so this Combat Club's holding a horror booth? There are plenty of those out there so this shouldn't be all that special! - was what most said before they came out nearly soulless. WOOPS! I said too much! Kind of like how certain someones said too much and caused another brouhaha even in the midst of a happy event. With the wondrous events brought about by a lively school fest, it's only natural for darkness to lurk about in the corner, silently waiting for you to just come across it accidentally - with the relationships between the members of the combat club starting to grow, with the secrets of the school nurse finally being revealed, someone fragile is about to break into a million pieces; who's going to be there to mend that person back together? Probably someone with red hair...probably. And when you realize that reality has you as its target next...**

**The School Festival isn't so merry anymore. **

**OKAY! NOW I HAVE TO CUT THIS SHORT 4 AM ON THE CLOCK AND GOLLY ME I SEE THE SUN!**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU FEEL ABOUT THE THINGS IN THIS CHAPTER! **

**With love, support and Karmana, I wish you a good day~! **

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	16. Chapter 16

**Well this is probably the shortest chapter I've written in my lifetime as a writer. AND I'M SORRY FOR THAT! AND IT TOOK SO LONG TOO *BAWLS***

**But I had to arrange the entire plot of this arc accordingly because I will warn you now: THIS IS PROLLY THE LONGEST ARC YET**

**Well you know, so far.**

**So yeah while you wait for the real thing (I'm sorry) HERE'S THE PROLOGUE~! It's basically what I want to call the calm before the storm lol XD**

**Do hope you find at least some enjoyment while reading this because it's VERY VERY SHORT (for me) and it's all in one scene XD**

**But worry not this is not a filler just a comical chapter X"""3**

**Okay I'll stop making excuses and reply to those reviews FINALLY!: (I'm still sorry about last time ;-;)**

**Left-to-die: HELLO AGAIN! Thanks for reviewing! Man, I appreciate your long reviews everytime you do considering you claim yourself to be lazy when logging in X'3 So for that I appreciate it! And also thanks for calling the story cute too 8""3 Oh and about Sugino well I'll explain it in a few chapters XD I wasn't able to indicate it in the summer arc hehe XP I'm glad you liked the mascot! ^W^**

**CrissNyan: Thanks for the review! AND LOL KARMA FRIENDZONED XDD (Not for long ;D)**

**Mugipyon: OHHH! HISASHIIBURI! UM...GOMENE FOR MAKING YOU CRY (?) ;w; I'm glad you enjoyed the Karma revelation X"3 YES I KNOW IT'S SAD JUST KNOWING KOROSENSEI IS DEAD IN THIS FIC _AND_ THAT HE'S GONNA DIE IN THE MANGA EITHER WAY Q3Q Thank you for the burry long review I appreciate those a lot 8"")) And about that preview...well let's say it's divided - the happy and sad parts I mean 8"3 And yes I'll be honest there will be h/c and lots of it in this arc ;D Oh and about how you'll send them...since I'm REALLY curious as to how you drew them and I love your drawings too...maybe you can post them on DA as doodles if you want? Or post them somewhere else and just send me a link through PM (just like you did Tumblr XD) THANKS FOR READING AGAIN!**

**Sweetmoegirl: WHOAH LONG XD THANKS A LOT! Thank you for pointing all of those parts you liked out and putting your opinions there too! THEY MEAN A LOT SO IF YOU CAN, Please keep doing so ^W^ LOL NAGISA: "So you fell in love" I honestly knew that that was what he was gonna say on the spot XD Happy to hear that you liked the korosensei feel moments! And yeah Sugino will get his light too dont worry~ And I'll explain what happened to Sugino after two chapters 8""3 YAY! THEY'RE BOTH ON FIRST NAME BASIS SO THEY CAN BE MISTOOK AS A COUPLE (*WINKWINK**NUDGENUDGE*) Dat friendzone doe (dont worry its not legit friendzone until he actually tells her XDD) Hm about your answer, sure I'll take it into consideration! Again, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT!**

**FreeWeirdGal: Hey there! Thanks for reviewing again! And OMG thanks for praising how I characterized them ;w; IT MEANS A LOT TO ME! Well I wouldn't really call Nagisa's life quiet but it's not as extravagant but then again what do I know X'3 HAHA! CULTURAL FEST YAY! Again, thank you! **

**ANON: Thank you! You the best too~**

**TheRoseShadow21: HEY THERE AGAIN~! And oh I hope I dont disappoint with this arc ;w; And about the answer to the question, Im sorry for not adding Hinano 8""D But I'll take that answer into consideration too! Thank you for the praising of the logo 8"3 I just had a sudden boom of inspiration like they did XD Oh and another thank you for calling it a clever move for Karma's new acknowledgement to her ^W^ And LOL! I kept playing it in my mind like comically and real fast ("MA?!" "NA-*spits drink*?!" "*MI-?! *Hits head on nearest wall*) XDD Oh and that really warms me up inside because I always thought I got him OOC as I wrote so thank you very much AGAIN! QWQ Haha lol I'll figure out what to do with that stoic couple soon ;D (If she's turned on by humiliating secrets that means if they get married to have it would mean he'd-*SLAPPED A HUNDRED TIMES*) And you'll have to figure out who finds out what by reading~! Well I'd hate to break it to you but no 8""( I cant let their previous lives get caught with troubles here DX And yeah I'm sleeping well enough~! Thanks for the concern and I hope you enjoy! **

**kawaiichoconeko: DANKE~ Oh well Karma got the friendzone or what XD (Nah it's not until he actually tells her LOL XD) **

**I12Bfree: Thanks for the reviews! And dont worry they went shopping lol XD And I'll take that to consideration since most of you are answering with her~**

**Title Unwanted: I'm married to my wifi but I appreciate it-*slapped* LOL JOKE XD Well in all seriousness, thank you for your kind words! I look forward to seeing more of you! ^W^ Thanks for pointing those parts you liked out! They make me feel giddy like a school girl X"D**

**blank 9395: Hello~! YES GOOD JOB NAGISA GIVE HIM A MEDAL! And thanks for telling me your favorite parts! And Hm I'll think about Manami being her potential Kouhai in another type of way now~ Oh well maybe~ I'll see what I can do OwO**

**Akatsuki-Metal: Hey there again! Man, you've been reviewing a lot lately so thanks! Thank you VERY much and I hope this arc doesn't disappoint ^w^)!**

**Quilla The Silent" QUI-CHAN HELLO! Lol how many family members do you read a fanfic with? XD And you'll find that out in a few chaps I guess~ HAHA RIO TAKES THE POSITION FOR BEST GIRL XDD Thanks again!**

**FeatherStar18208: Thanks for the review! And we'll see about Manami's wardrobe soon XD And you'll have to read to find out~! **

**Akikarui: HEY THERE! And yes Korosensei the feels ;w; And hm I've been thinking of that too but I wanted to see what everyone thought!**

**KisaragiMaru: GLAD YOU LIKED IT XD! Well...he's gonna die in the manga too so... ;w; And I'll see about that! And yeah I kind of had that thought too**

**animeandmangafangirl: THANK YOU~! See you around too! ^W^ Good luck with your stories!**

**Okay without further ado, the shortest chapter I've ever created XDD **

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING NYURUHUHUHUHUH**

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**Chapter 16: What You Are to Me (PROLOGUE)**

"Yush! The gym is for yours for free use until the day of the fiesta." A pale-brown haired sophomore exclaimed to her freshmen with a bubbly beam and the slight echo of her adorable voice in the spacious school gym of the Kimii High School Campus.

It was larger than what they had expected – six pairs of eyes had themselves wandering about in the far corners of this major facility. The ceiling could probably be estimated to about a twenty meter distance from the glossy, wood-toned, cemented floor that had quite the well-waxing to it for shoes would squeak from time to time as each step was made. Windows of notable size upon the upper walls gave the room an energetic type of brightness due to the sun's noon shine on the first Saturday of the second semester; in fact, said windows were almost half the length and width of the entire wall itself – which let the rays of light reflect themselves against the plank-patterned flooring and somehow conveyed a motivating atmosphere to the ones who were finally able to get permission for access to this large space since many other clubs wanted it for their own attractions in the nearing school festival. (They won it over using blackmail and other cheap tricks via Akabane Karma)

"The only days you're not permitted to occupy this is during Mondays and Wednesdays since there will be sports clubs using it to train. Other than that, you're free to do whatever you want with the area 'til the day of the festival as long as it's within school rules." She added to her instructions in a polite yet leader-like manner as usual with the raise of her finger – Sugino and Manami both heaved a relieved sigh and had internally thanked her for that last part of her statement knowing what they're clubmates would end up doing if they were given too much freedom (they were extra wary of the two tricksters of the group whom showed looks of slight disappointment just now).

"Sounds good enough. We'll just use the clubroom if that happens." Chiba suggested as he took the time to perceive other prominent portions of the gym to see what they could do with it for their big plan; and it seemed he was not the only one to perform a few observations for a particular brunette had already been actively eyeing each corner of the area with admiration as she made a few shapes with her hands and nodded to empty spaces here and there. It wasn't hard to notice how much she was looking forward to their set-up due to the fact that she was practically adventuring the area by now.

"Oh! That's a literate academy gym for you!" the sets of stage lights usually designed for theatrical performances that were stationed upon the front most side of the high ceiling caught the otaku's eye – inevitably leading to the others present in the room to glance over at her.

"They even have these types of lights even if it's a sports arena! Now I'm really getting hyped!" a striving grin came to her features as a hand had been placed in her chin to express more of her satisfaction as she nodded with a look saying she was more than excited for this now.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Everyone's going to set this up." Rinka's ever-stoic tone had reached the manga-lover's ears – to which she replied to with a grin as she skipped back to where her friends were "I know, I know~"

By this time, they had already relayed their different ideas and opinions that had led them all to agree on one final plan that had everyone's own magic touch to it. Their script, their set-up, their roles – all were prepared and were ready to be played; the only thing that was left for them to do was use the month they'd been given wisely and make the day they bring out the best in them as worth it as possible.

"Alright then! I'll be mopping the area while you're at it so rest easy!" another jolly thumbs-up came from their vice president whom now had an old mop in her hands – the bucket of soap and water not too far away as she dipped it there a few times.

_'When did she get that?'_ Rio found herself narrowing her eyes suspiciously as she had the thought – if she could recall that mop wasn't there when they entered. Then again, there were lots of times she didn't understand this senior so she brushed the thought away as soon as it came.

The idea of cleaning the venue had caused Manami to perk up and display the droopy-eyed girl a hospitable grin "Ah, then we'll help you cle—"

"Nope~!" she had immediately been cut off and was presented with Mai's hand as a 'stop' gesture – her cheerful expression suddenly turning into one of mock-sternness (since she can't legitimately look that way) as she reprimanded her "All of you have work to get to. Not to mention, you have a very important part, Okuda-san." She winked once and wagged her finger – thankfully the shorter girl took this with understanding and replied to her with a nod.

"And plus, it's the first mop I used to clean Omo-chan's pee!" bright blue eyes had all of a sudden brimmed with wonder as the brunette held the mop closer to her and beamed at her juniors – she made it look as if this was a very cherished memory of hers for it was as if there were sparkles floating by her marveled expression before she went on with her job.

As opposed to this 'happy' memory of hers, a strange and awry atmosphere had risen with the others present in the room. "I suddenly don't want to step on this floor anymore…" Sugino apparently had gotten the words out for everyone – the very thought of the animal with a peculiar form and personality was enough to kill the mood; but to know that such a thing was capable of lubricating, even Karma couldn't hide the disturbance he felt when she said that as a crooked smile came about on his face with his arms crossed while sweat dropped on the foreheads of nearly everyone in the room.

After a few moments were spent trying to regain their composure and mood to practice, they had started to go about with their business with no daylight to waste.

"Hm, since Mikagura-sensei isn't here with the materials we ordered yet, maybe we should start measuring the area?" Rio suggested – even she had gone into an enthusiastic business mode.

"You can leave that to us. You girls work on whatever you can for starters." The spiky haired boy assured them keenly with a thumb pointed to himself and the other two boys who stood behind him – Karma was already playing with the measuring tape in his hand by lifting it up and down; Chiba on the other hand held up a framing square.

"Okay~" The blond-haired girl displayed them with a toothy grin and a thumbs-up before they proceeded with their division of tasks – conveniently separated by gender.

"Where should we start?" Rinka inquired from the other two while she settled herself beside the bespectacled girl with arms crossed – she appeared to be even more business-like than usual for her posture could be compared to that of a responsible secretary at the moment; not even her sharp, emerald eyes chose to show anything but seriousness.

Yuzuki pondered upon this for a while as she put a gently curled fist to her mouth as she approached the two and inserted herself in the circle of girls "It's our first day of practice, so why don't we get that near-end turn of hers over with because it's the easiest?"

"Oh well, better than nothing." Rio shrugged before crossing her arms over her chest to observe her two friends on the sidelines with the female sniper – neither of them knew how that turn the helmet-headed girl suggested for their ender would play out, so they respectfully had to leave it to her to teach the bespectacled girl; but of course they'd state some opinions when needed.

"Okay Manami-chan, first you have to try standing straight – elegant like a goddess does~" Yuzuki instructed with a little chime in the end for fun's sake as she waved a hand back and forth like it was an 'easy peasy' type of job.

Manami nodded with understanding and a determined smile – the resolve to do her best had still been present in her lavender eyes and had not faltered since the day they decided to give her the biggest role in the project. To appease the desire to not disappoint, she had readied herself for anything they were to command her to do without reluctance or any form of complaints; for she was well aware that they may do things out of her comfort zone.

"Okay, so…" the small girl leaned her upper body back a bit and blinked at the other three who watched her as a form of confirmation "Like this?"

The posture had led to all three girls furrowing their brows in criticism – she still had her fingers intertwined like how she usually poised herself so her shoulders were still a tad bit higher than relaxed; if anything, rather than an elegant goddess, her figure revolves more on the innocent, shy, schoolgirl – which she is.

"Try relaxing those shoulders a bit." Rinka was the first one to voice out her thoughts and at the same time approached the girl to place her hands upon those ever-stiff shoulders and gently pushed them down.

"Ah—O-Okay…" Manami obliged and turned her head to each shoulder in understanding. And just as the orange-haired girl stepped back to have another look, Rio gave her own comment.

"You're too reserved; you should try to relax a bit more and look more carefree than usual – from what I can get from your posture, it's like you're always conscious." blue eyes with cunning written all over them had been accompanied by the snap of the owner's fingers as she pointed to the braided girl with a smirk "Try letting more of that chest out."

"Ch-Ch-Chest?!" her shaky hands instinctively went over the aforementioned part of her body where she had lots of discomforts with when talked about – the spectacled girl's earlier stance had completely diminished into a defensive and extra-cautious one as the short girl found difficulty in recovering from such a blunt statement (About a private part, no less).

"Yep~" Rio had given her a cheeky grin again before she put a hand to her hip and winked at her wittingly "For your horrifying goddess character you need to have that kind of _superior_ grace, right?"

Still far from regaining her composure, Manami tilted her head and furrowed her brows in confusion as she stammered out "S-Superior?" – she had no idea what she meant by the usage of the word for moments, but she was sure it had something to do with what she desperately tried to block from the taller girl right now.

"…I have to agree." _'Even if I'm against this pervert's antics all the time, she has a point right now.'_ Yuzuki had narrowed eyes facing off to the side as she bit her lip and appeared to have had to force herself to say such things out loud.

Seeing this as unexpected from her, the poison lover's state of shock only doubled before she sharply turned back to the brunette with disbelief – whose guilt died as fast as it came when she saw how she nodded to this opinion with consideration "Y-Yuzuki-chan?!"

"C'mon, it shouldn't be that bad!" Rio attempted to reassure her and let her face the three of them by turning her around gently – which had a glimmer of hope spark inside the petite girl for a moment and let her self-possession return as she stared up at them curiously to have them continue "You just have to poise like you mean it and bring about some kind of exquisite aura."

But soon after this, however, all three girls had themselves lowering their heads and locked their eyes with the female part they were just talking about studiously.

After about four seconds of Manami being only able to blink at them from puzzlement, Yuzuki finally spoke up "…But they are kind of small…"

"Now that you mentioned it…" Rinka squinted her emerald eyes at the (to her) saddening pair her introverted friend carried with her.

And all three apparently had the same thought once they had gotten a good enough look at it.

_'So much for superior…'_

"Huh?" Meanwhile, the raven-haired girl had a little trouble with what they meant by that as she caught them with their eyes fixed on a certain part of her body – lower than her face, that's for sure. As a few more pitiful (to the rest) and uncertain (to Manami) seconds came to pass, lavender eyes had found themselves staring into each of the taller girl's chests one by one starting from Yuzuki to Rinka to Rio (whom had the largest out of all of them) until she let her gaze fall onto her own and had been hit with a great realization suddenly.

Now she knows how Kayano feels.

After getting struck with an electrical shock that had her body go completely cold, she instinctively turned her entire body away from them with a sharp gasp and protected her chest area with the cross of her arms over them – a long, high pitched squeal barely as audible as a whisper came from her tightly sealed lips as her body temperature continued to rise at a fast rate.

It appears as though the golden-haired girl had not let this topic go yet for her brows furrowed in deep thought as she tapped her chin with a finger – once she had an idea, she used the same finger to raise up in eureka "Nothing a few pads can't fix!"

"Th-That's supposed to make me feel better?!" this came out whisper-like, but undeniably distressed to no end.

From the other side of the huge venue, the other three of the opposite gender had paused in their measurements to have a look at what had been going on in the girl's side for the so-called 'practice' – all they could observe was how their blond-haired clubmate had walked up from behind the short girl whom evidently had a high level of distraught at the moment for she flailed her arms once the taller one had gotten close. Afterwards, the other two approached the braided girl by her sides and rested one hand on each of her shoulders before they nodded in sync – they took it that it was a gesture for moral support but all that got out of the science-loving girl was the fall of her head in a hopeless manner.

To much (of Manami's) luck, they could hear none of their disturbing conversation.

"What are they talking about?" Chiba was the first to speak up between them – his hand still holding onto the end of the measuring tape as Karma had the base material in his palm; but even he had to turn away from their current business to wonder what on earth had gotten into them; especially now that

"Like I know." Was all he could say in the end before he shrugged and tried to focus on their work and all the numbers they had to compute – which wasn't much of a sweat to any of them, really.

Sugino on the other hand, had a sweatdrop fall at the side of his face as he kept his hands to his waist and only looked over them from his shoulder. "Girls are mysterious creatures."

Once all the talk on body parts had come to pass, the four girls had reverted back to their original task and had gone back to helping their introverted with her turning practice.

"Alright, so you just go like this, and then step there, one more time…" short brown hair twirled around swiftly before bouncing in a landing with the skip of the otaku's step "and end it like this. Now you go try it." Yuzuki instructed her properly after a second time of demonstrating it so she would properly be able to depict it with accuracy.

"Alright." Manami nodded with zealousness and comprehension before she checked herself – posture and all – before giving it a go. After a few steps…

"One, two, this then—AH!" within split-seconds, the sound of a plastic material tapping the floor loudly followed by the nearly ear-splitting squeak of a shoe and afterwards ended with a loud _thud_ that had _everyone_ inside the gym flinch from its suddenness and how painful that must've been.

What first met the eyes of all within the area was the fact that Okuda Manami had fallen with her face flat on the cemented floor (thankfully her glasses came off with the almost 90 degree flip she had just performed and landed just a few inches away from her fallen form). The next observation that came to was the mop that had carelessly been left on the floor – and assuming that the area around it was most probably still wet, that just explains that she basically tripped on the mop left unattended and it was only made worse by the wet floor that lacked a warning signal.

It took a few seconds for them to let the events sink in, but once they had grasped the happenings perfectly, six heads turned to the part of the gym where their senior stood with accusatory scowls on their faces – to which she responded to with the covering of her mouth guiltily before she displayed them a peace sign. After a few rolls of eyes and some sighs of exasperation, all those inside closed in on the accident prone girl who hadn't gotten up from her position upon the cold hard floor.

Karma and Rio were the ones that helped pull her up and tried to steady her body in the process for it was like she had just gone numb in all areas with how heavy it felt. Meanwhile, Rinka had taken initiative to pick the dark-haired girl's glasses up and fix it from behind her dizzy body.

With an uneasy raise of her eyebrow, Rio gently attempted to keep her head from swinging back and forth too much by cupping her face in her hands. To say Manami looked dazed was an understatement – her face had gone red from the impact of the floor and her eyes were half-lidded; if anything, she looked drunk "Uh, Are you okay?"

Her body apparently responded with a stretch of red that originated from her nose. Nope, she was not okay.

She then faced the two tall ones in front of her with a clueless expression as her head continued to move from side to side unsteadily now without the support brought by Rio's hands. "Oi…" now Karma was beginning to feel a little worried with her responses to whatever they did – well, all she did was look around and then another stretch of red came from the other hole on her nose. Once she had settled her stare onto the two pranksters in front of her giving her looks she couldn't quite decipher, she spoke in a soft, dazed tone – like the ones people make when they're drowsy.

"Huh? I can see mustard and ketchup…" the only thing within her vision right now were blobs of red and yellow with other hints of black and a lot of colors she didn't want to think about at the moment due to how much that just hurt.

On the other hand, the two exchanged a look quite uncomfortably (she just compared their hair colors to condiments, after all) before they looked at her again.

"Hey, Ketchup…"

"What is it, Mustard?"

"It's okay to knock her out now, right?" After Rio suggested this, she got a small flick at the back of her forehead coming from the otaku who looked down on her with utter disappointment.

Before Karma could make another remark, the small girl sitting in front of his crouched position let out a sniffle which automatically had everyone's attention turned to her again.

"…It hurts." Was all she said – very much like how a child would what with the soft, unsure and high-pitched voice; especially with the way the sides of her eyes had tears beginning to form just by how much her fall damaged her.

Albeit finding this to be very adorable, Rio stepped into the conversation again and put a hand on her shoulder – an evident worry in her tone now since this was the first time she had seen such an expression from her "That is _very_ cute, but let's take you to Inari-sensei."

With how things went today starting from the mop thing, the discussion on chest sizes, the bewilderment of men, the accident prone girl nearly getting a concussion because of senpai carelessness - all within _one_ hour on their _first_ day, everyone else who watched the strange scene in front of them knew one thing as they had sarcastic smiles on and nearly bleak looks in their eyes…

_It's gonna be one hell of a month…_

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**THAT'S IT FOR NOW~! X"""D**

**Yeah I know hate me for the GREAT GREAT Lack of Karmanami in this chapter but this is just a prologue without much of anything! It's the introductory of a 6 part arc after all. (YES IM ESTIMATING IT TO 6[7 if you count this one]) And it's for the sake of introduction so yeah I still hope you enjoyed even if there's no Karmanami at all X"3**

**BUT HEY! LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE! THERE WILL BE LOTS COMING YOUR WAY IN THE NEXT CHAPTERS SO PREPARE YOURSELF 8"D**

**I'll try my best to update soon because school starts in 7 FREAKING. DAYS. And Im getting slower for some reason ;w;**

**Oh well I'll leave it at that for a while. 'Til the first chapter which I have already been working on!**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ALL THAT! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU CAN EVEN THOUGH THIS CHAPTER WASN'T MUCH AT ALL!**

**With love, gratitude and the anohana sadness within me,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	17. Chapter 17

**So, I'm sure you've all been dying to get on with this arc but I regret to tell you I'm here with...ANOTHER PROLOGUE~!**

**Okay fine I'll be honest I _wanted_ to make it the first chapter, but it (as usual) turned out longer than I expected so the first chapter is and will finally be the first one. But of COURSE these two prologues are connected to it. If anything, I'd say this second prologue is way more important than the first one which was basically introduction and comedy filler XD**

**All in all, I'm glad most of you LOL'd in the last chapter XDD (Heck I lol'd when I thought of ketchup and mustard while eating salad XD; everyone looked at me like I was just looking at the undead dance in front of me when there was nothing I was staring at but a TV that isn't even on XD)**

**Okay so since I wanna finish up the first chapter (yes I am already working on it) tonight, I'll make this a very brief post and answer those reviews I VERY MUCH LOVE ALL OF YOU FOR. **

**Oh and by the way, I know I keep saying this in almost every chapter but this time for real I got hit with a real writer's block in the beginning. I don't know, somehow there's a lacking to my motivation now and no it's not your fault. I just need more inspiration to ship is all XDD I need MOAR SHIP TO GET ME SHIPPING TTWTT**

**Alright let's get down with it:**

**animeandmangafangirl: LUCKY! 8(( MINE IS ENDING AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. And lol ketchup and mustard XD The two tricksters of the group with the weirdest hair. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Title Unwanted: LOL XD I guess I could be proud of myself? Or nah? Thank YOU for the review and I hope you read more to find out!**

**Akabane-san: Hello! And thank you again for reviewing! LOL sure I have more of it here I guess XD **

**I12Bfree: LOL! Thanks XDD**

**FeatherStar18208: Glad I made your day somehow! XD Ketchup and Mustard - even in Ansatsu Kyoushitsu we have them XD**

**bluemoon butterfly: Lol gomen about Okuda XD And you'll see when it gets there ;D Thank you for the review and congrats for calling the Korosensei poster X'3 **

**TheRoseShadow21: XDD I'm happy to know that I made you laugh. Thank you once more~! And it's fine! I hope this second prologue doesn't disappoint! And I hope the next chapters dont too!**

**Left-to-die: OH WOW LONG REVIEW FOR A SHORT CHAPTER OwO You sir indeed make effort and I appreciate you for that uwu)b And yes this group of former E is enough to create havoc in an entire school. I mean, they came from a classroom trying to kill their extra-weird teacher after all. What part of them is dull? XD ESPECIALLY those girls and I have to agree that they may hold the fate of the entire school one day XD Well I wouldn't really consider them jerks - I just thought they were used to her being so accident prone XD All in all I hope you enjoy the rest of this long arc and I hope I find enough time to do so when school starts. ANd yes summer just ended here in the philippines where I live since our hottest months are from March to May. So yeah there X'3**

**kawaiichoconeko: CHOCONEKO-CHAN~! I'm glad to hear you find it funny XD Ketchup and Mustard now a new trope? Owo AND I TRIED TO PUT AS MUCH AS I CAN FOR THIS CHAP!**

**CrissNyan: Haha happy you think it's funny X'3 And lol you found it _that_ funny? XD thanks! And hopefully she will..._hopefully..._HERE IT IS~(even if it's another prologue)**

**Akikarui: *shrugs* guess that's just how the mysterious Mai-senpai is XD Thanks for pointing out those funny points in the chapter! I'm happy to know you liked them!**

**Sweetmoegirl: HEY THERE AGAIN~ And Yay I'm glad you really liked it! Pft. Poor Manami. No chest for Karma to fon-*murdered by everyone* HE'S NOT PERVERTED OKAY XD I hope this next prologue doesn't disappoint! Hooray for Ketchup and mustard!**

**hasuki3010: AWWW I'm sure it's not as great as many others out there but Thank you very much for your kind words! To know that you've come to like this fanfic a lot warms my heart and WOW YOU READ ALL THOSE JUNK OF WORDS IN 5 HOURS? WHOA! I APPLAUD! I'm sorry for making you cry 8"3 And I'm glad I made you squeal, laugh and everything XDD I hope to see more of you in the succeeding chapters! And it makes me so happy to hear which arcs you really liked! Hahhh...brings back memories just looking back at them ;w; And LOL! I hope I get to make more comedic scenes like that to make viewers happy! XD Lastly, thank you very much and I hope I do not fall short of expectations~**

**KisaragiMaru: GOMEN X'3**

**Akatsuki-Metal: Yep that group is doomed in its own way XDD ANd I hope so too~ But we'll only find out as I write and as you read ;D And of course, Thanks!**

**NOW THEN~! LET'S GET PROLOGUE NUMBER 2 GOING!**

**Disclaimer: NO I DONT OWN IT LEAVE ME ALONE STUPID LAWS**

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**Chapter 16: What You Are to Me (PROLOGUE II)**

A cozy, wooden clubroom had been well lit by the after-school sunshine of a Monday in autumn.

The table that was usually stationed in the center of this rather aged room had been put aside along with all the other appliances for a big space to be present in the very center of the room where a petite girl positioned herself for all those around her to see. Within this bright room, three students and a teacher had found their individual spaces and watched the girl in front of them go with stoic expressions and eyes that were sharp with criticism and judgment.

The one standing closest to their performer had her arms crossed above her chest and mouth formed into a simple line on her face as she kept a business-like aura – Nakamura Rio had herself to the left of the raven-haired girl but not too near that she would end up in the center with her; just a fair distance as another student had herself occupied with sets of art materials and other props needed for their Cultural Fest Attraction – but nevertheless, Fuwa Yuzuki kept an eye on the bespectacled girl and remained attentive for the most part as she sustained her work pace. Hands were dirtied with paint, glue and other crafty materials. To the far corner by the room's door, an orange-haired teacher with extravagantly well-fitting curly locks styled by a little 'X' shaped clip over at the left side of her crown poised herself onto her observer's desk with crossed legs and arms. Behind rectangular framed spectacles, Mikagura Midori's perceptive green eyes were on alert just like they always were when she'd attend these practices seriously; it's been nearly a month since they'd started after all.

Lastly, laid back in his seat right in front of her, just by the window where red hair got whiffed by small winds from time to time and shined against the golden-like light, Akabane Karma had on an aloof expression like usual – however, like everyone else, his eyes were narrowed a tad as he studied the girl quite inscrutably; but you couldn't deny he was in the midst of judging.

Okuda Manami was tasked to recite her lines that afternoon – her tone of voice had become accustomed to the creepy-like tone she had been taught how to do from being given Horror Drama CD's and other movies so she may also mimic the expression (courtesy of 3-E's biggest manga-lover). Every day since then, she'd practiced her hardest so as to not disappoint; everyone in the room knew that much and she had done a fairly well job at doing so – much, much better compared to how it all started out compared to today. However…

The short girl's spectacles glinted maliciously against the afternoon light – her voice was deeper than its usual, shy tone and had a creepy and threatening ring to it that only added up to the ghastly grin that stretched her face underneath the dark and ominous shadow of her hair.

"I ask of you, child of man – whom was brought about in this world by your tainted ascendants. Do you know what your si—"

"Hep. Stop." Manami's shoulders jolted up from the sound of the familiar, yet sterner, voice from her left side. Once she had turned to the source, she was first met with Yuzuki who seemed to had stopped in her work just to intervene – her face was serious as eyes were shut gently as if a superior being about to pass judgment. Albeit her sudden interjection to the practice, the only ones who appeared to be caught by surprise was the one who had been performing in the first place; no one else had lost their composure nor moved an inch after that – but their analytical expressions had been replaced by ones of humorlessness.

"What's the matter, Fuwa Yuzuki-san?" the way the blonde-haired girl put it was as if they were in the middle of a board meeting of a big company but did not let herself falter one bit – clearly this was no day for much jokes.

"Oh, not much." The short-haired girl's tone had become somewhat sarcastic but all in all it had respectable intentions to it as she gave her honest opinion "I just don't like it."

"Eh—I-Is that so?" the shy girl had reverted back to her usual self after this; it was surprising for them to discover that she could act well if she really put her mind into it, but that appraisal was to be brushed aside as they carried on with their criticism.

"Why is that?" Rio directed the question to Yuzuki; however from the way her voice sounded, it was as if she already knew the answer.

"I'm not impressed. I barely feel any threat and there's a great lack of impact to it. And…" pinkish orbs traveled from the girl standing in front of her to the one stationed in the center with a raised eyebrow – no sense of sugarcoating was present at all on her face and in her words "Have you really been practicing this part?"

"Y-Yes, I have." Manami stammered and faced them with honest eyes and a solid enough tone – they weren't entirely moved by it though for not much of a reaction came from any of them.

"Try showing us again." The brunette leaned back to her arms for support and tilted her head quite nonchalantly – somehow like how a teacher would look at a student without expecting much from them.

"O-Okay." She first took a deep breath and prepared herself to give out that terrifying aura once more – she wouldn't have been able to notice something was off with her until-

"Wait." Before she could do it all again, she had been abrupt by another, but much deeper voice that came from behind her. When she turned around, Mikagura-sensei (who for once decided to seriously help out the club) had gone from observing her from the edge of her seat to leaning back with narrowed eyes as she played with a click-pen in one hand – which she most likely took from her usual white lab coat; she was a chemistry teacher after all.

"Sensei?" lavender eyes blinked for a second after the light orange-haired teacher only rubbed her chin for a few moments until she took her clicking pen and used it to point out to certain parts of her figure with a sense of critique.

"Your stance, posture and facial expression are all out of place."

Just as Manami took consciousness of such, her fellow bespectacled chemist clicked her pen once more before she carried on "One more thing…" green eyes narrowed themselves to the point they were studious enough to make the braided girl tilt her head in a bit of discomfort rather than inquiry.

"Did you eat your breakfast or lunch today?" her tone was laced with concern, but overall it gave the impression of a scolding – and this suspicion had only been confirmed when the younger science geek presented her with a startled step back of her foot followed by the guilty turn away of her head as she began to sweat nervously. Noticing this, the other club members perked up and listened in carefully – it had been all over their heads how her complexion looked pale today, and the answer had just been found.

"A-Ah, well…I tried to practice early in the morning before school started…and I used lunch time too…" she fidgeted about on her position and felt her toes curl as she spoke remorsefully and failed to look them in the eye; knowing that what they all gave her just now were expressions of disapproval.

"S-Sorry…" she couldn't bring herself to look at them in her apology – even with the intense practices, they kept it in mind to remind her of staying healthy which only let the guilt spread more. She was supposed to be used to their bluntness by now since as the deadline reached its end they had become more and more strict with everything she did.

Rio sighed – she knew none of them needed to remind her of that fact again, therefore she proceeded with her opinion next, this time with a slightly chagrined expression "Okay, here are my comments." After a slow blink and the lower of her head, she peered up at her with a sense of intimidation "You've been able to do everything else without much trouble, but when we reach this part you lose it – not to mention it's the last one. Your voice falters a lot."

A frown reached the light-haired girl's features when she took notice of how Manami's gaze had fallen to the floor. "Karma-kun, your thoughts?"

Behind the small-framed girl's spectacles, her eyes had slightly widened before she let her eyeballs travel to the tall boy whom sat laxly upon his chair – arms hooked on both sides as he only stared back at her a little lazily for a few moments, but his sharp, mercury orbs gave her another message she couldn't quite get her finger around, but she was sure she found no satisfaction there "It's in need of a little too much work, don't you think?"

Puzzled by what he meant by this at first, she could only let out a single "Eh?"

"Do it again." He wasted no time in replying with a commanding tone this time – naturally, she immediately obliged to the intimidating voice she rarely got out of him, though still a tad bit disconcerted by it.

"Ah—Er—" she took a moment to clear her throat and prepare herself again – only this time it was more out of panic "I ask of—"

"Nope, won't do." And he dismissed her just like that with a sigh and leaned forward to rest his chin on the knuckles of his right hand after her propped his elbow up. He may had been much too straightforward with her on this, but nevertheless the rest of them remained businesslike and almost aloof even due to how much they knew she needed this.

"Mm…" a crushed hum came from her tightly sealed lips that had formed into a frown on her face; even with the crestfallenness clouding her downcast eyes, Karma didn't cease with his voiced out opinions and had his eyes upturned to her standing form rather unsympathetically.

"We have about one week until the festival. Are you really taking this seriously?"

At this, Manami sharply brought her head up and argued "O-Of course!"

"Explain this then. You've been able to do everything else well until we reach this climax. Why is that?" after he had let that cold inquiry leave his mouth, the only response that met his eyes was how she had just reverted back to her earlier despondent expression – he guessed that it's about something she couldn't just say out loud for reasons he's yet to let himself find out; _if_ she were willing to tell him. But right now, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer sooner or later, Karma heaved a sigh and nodded "Yush, let's stop there."

Right on time, another brunette gently slid their door open with a plastic bag in hand that appeared to have contained snacks just for them – a beam on her face was present as always when she entered in her jolly manner "Alright everyone! Le— Oh?" Mai stopped mid-sentence when she was greeted with a few expressions of surprise which made her think she had abrupt something profound quite rudely.

"Is it a bad time to take a twenty minute break?" she tilted her head curiously but still kept a bright and active smile on her face. For some reason, the earlier businesslike atmosphere had diminished entirely after she entered – now, almost everyone was back to their casual personalities and even had smiles on their face again (bless this person for existing)"Oh! Are those the fruit buns from that bakery near school?" Yuzuki's eyes lit up after they had landed on the French logo of the newly opened patisserie she had always wanted to try – her joy only increased when a thumbs-up came from the older girl.

Rio stretched her arms up to relax her earlier stiff body and let her hands land on her waist with that carefree smile back on "Alright, let's take a break!" with that, she went over to the table that was put to the side where they were to have their brief snack-time; Yuzuki followed suit after she clapped her hands clean and washed them by their convenient sink

Relieved by their positive reactions, the worry of being a nuisance to serious practice had dissipated as the council member placed the food she brought for them atop the table "Okay then, just pick whatever you want here and I'll call the others!" another enthusiastic salute came from her like always before she skipped out the door and onward to the school garden where the rest of them worked.

Mikagura-sensei stretched up from her position on her desk and let a yawn out as she headed to the other two girls – seemed even she had gone from serious instructor to twisted teacher all over again in just a snap like everyone else.

All the while, Manami had not torn her gaze away from the floor and was the only one in the room that failed to revert to a casual behavior – in fact, she hadn't moved from her spot even after the vice president entered all jovially. It was clear that she was still down from that last bit of practice today; all she had received were comments on how she wasn't good enough after all – but that wasn't the main case at the moment for her.

Knowing this type of reaction would come to be, Karma approached her with his hands to his pockets and a refreshing smile as he leaned forward to be in level with her face and chimed "Oi~ Don't make that face."

What he got from her after that was another distressed frown as her head lowered even more "But…" in contrast with how crushed she'd sounded, the mischievous boy only kept a warm smile on his face as he let her continue – he knew all too well how often she'd overthink things, seeing this didn't make an exception; it just reminded him of one of the many reasons he came to adore this girl.

"I…disappointed you guys today…" Manami let her fingers curl around the edge of her skirt and refused to meet his eyes out of guilt – especially at her next words "…especially you." – she still couldn't take her mind off how he had brought about his reviews on her performance.

Despite her troubled tone, he kept his smile on – only it was more genuine now as he let his mercury eyes lay on her distraught face with care. His hand came up to pet her head gently before he turned her around with the same hand for her to face the table of merry exchanges that went on between the three women that happily snacked. After he was sure she was getting a good look at it by the confusion that was evident in her eyes because of his actions, he spoke with a reassuring voice "What part of those faces looks disappointed to you?"

With that being said, Manami took the effort to perform a more profound inspection of their expressions – and he had a point; they were back to their usual selves as if nothing happened (which she still doesn't know how they all did); as if she hadn't just washed them over with a lot of disapproval.

"Don't think they'd given up on you. Everyone in here just wants to make sure we make the most out of this plan. I'm sure you want to have fun with this too, right?" he still kept his hand to the back of her head as he turned to the side to stare down at her with an encouraging grin.

Purple eyes blinked as she watched the three go about with their usual selves and even making funny remarks again – much unlike what she had been caught in earlier. Understanding what her dear friend wanted to relay to her, she nodded and let an affectionate smile grace her features "Mhm." Her eyes did not leave the group as she said her next words with sincerity

"I…want to have fun with everyone."

Pleased with this, Karma's expression softened "Good."

And before he knew it, his gaze lingered upon the white elastic hair ties that rested on her shoulders – it was the same pair. Without much thought, he leaned forward again just to take the tip of one of her braids to put his nose and mouth close to it as if it were something he treasured; which he, apparently, did.

_'Don't cry. You look ugly.'_

"Hm?" Manami could only stare at him inquisitively at his unexpected action – and just as she did, his mercury orbs were upturned to meet up with her confused lavender ones; the ones that always saw him as something more than what he was at first glance. Once more, he took a whiff of her hair with a contented smile and blinked slowly before he slowly let go of it and straightened his stance.

"Karma-kun?" she tilted her head again and stared up at him quizzically; obviously having quite a hard time comprehending what all that was for. Another smile came to him for this face of hers until he at last chuckled and ruffled her hair (which she let out a muffled squeak to) "Now then, why don't we join them?" Karma suggested though he was already making his way over there – all just so he could hear her frantically come to her senses and follow after him in that manner she always did. Yes, she was oblivious to his feelings but that doesn't mean he doesn't take joy in messing with her from time to time just to get those cute reactions from her – those were scores for him.

And he's yet to tell her anyway.

By the time they had come close enough for earshot, they overheard the few word exchanges between the two girls and single woman (in more ways than one) as they filled their mouths with sweet bread they'll have to thank their senior for later.

"Yuzuki-chan, how are the costumes on your end?" Rio managed to say between chews while she reached for her water tumbler.

"Going well. Isura-senpai's been a real big help with it too! Especially all that help she gave me when making the posters for advertisements. But I'll still have to pay that loan to the tailor." the pink-orbed girl deadpanned at the last statement before she took another piece of bread wrapped in a plastic containment.

"Pay your loans the soonest you can. It complicates things less." Mikagura-sensei tried giving them a few tips for she was the 'adult member' of this club (only whenever Inari wasn't around) and snickered cunningly as she sipped on a juice box that came with her student's snack treats. Albeit this probably useful piece of advice, both girls just peered at her with narrowed eyes and hid the lower half of their faces using the bread in their hands as if they were suspicious of her.

"I don't want to hear that from you, Mikagura-sensei." Yuzuki had to honestly state; which got her a "Hah?" from the older woman.

"Forgive us, Mikagura-sensei, but you're not one to talk about complicating things less." Rio presented her with a sly look before she took a bite out of her bread. It didn't take too long for the teacher to realize what they were pertaining to – her dating history.

Right before she could give an outburst to this, the clubroom's door slid open and revealed the rest of the woman's students – three of which had a few dirt-marks and paint stains upon their uniform from working with the different crafts they prepared.

"Ossu! How'd you guys go?" Sugino greeted first before he settled himself on one side of the table and watched the other two stoic characters with him find their spaces within their everyday room.

"Well, but still needs improvement." Yuzuki answered cheerfully and prepared to throw away the bag of trash conveniently prepared at her corner of the table by none other than her shy, chemistry-loving friend. Only, just as she was to stand up and throw it, her fist clenched around the plastic material with an menacing crunch against her tight grip when the snickers of the girl next to her reached her ears – though she was being provoked on how she was the one that answered him without hesitation, she held back her urge to smack the light-haired girl by keeping an irked smile on and enduring the irritation by the twitch of her eye.

"Oh, that's good to hear." The baseball-loving boy complimented them as he leaned back on his relaxed position with an exhausted huff.

From his usual position rested on the sink area (he just likes it there), Karma had a juice bottle in his hand as he asked his friend about their side "In any case, how's the set-up going?"

"It's already dry. Just needs some assembling and a little more tweaks to it and it should be smooth." Sugino reported with ease and a lively grin while he took his share of the bread inside the second plastic bag Mai had just placed as they all conversed.

"Hoh? Nice one. When do you think it'll be ready?" His voice was lazy as usual, but the compliment that came with it was honest – again, it was one of the rare occurrences wherein he would actually act like a leader-like figure.

"Thank you." He waved a hand as if to say 'no sweat' like the nice guy he was – even though it was clear to everyone that it must've been quite the sweat considering they were outside. "And if we're given the week with everyone's help I'm sure we'll get it done in about four to five days."

Hearing this aroused curiosity for the other members on the rest of the things they'd worked on outside for Rio had sprung up another question directed at the two snipers seated in front of her with their snacks in hand "Ah, speaking of tweaks." She pointed a finger to them with blue eyes filled with interest "How'd you do that thing I told you about?"

"We just had to recalibrate the air guns we were going to use and added the touch you guys suggested." Rinka replied almost immediately – living up to her adult-like demeanor with that dull tone of hers

"With a little bit of creativity from our side too." Chiba made it a point to add that last bit before he sipped on his canned coffee.

"Oh? Like what?" and the conversation on each and every one's progress went on. Taking into observation how all members of the room were hyped and full of joy after weeks of practice, Manami, whom rested herself on the side of the table where the other bespectacled chemist was, found herself looking back at how they had been practicing for the past few weeks before they had finally reached this point – how the two teachers, Inari and Mikagura, offered their time to train them how to use their performance skills well for it seemed they both had experience (it reminded her of Karasuma-sensei's teaching), how they had to visit each other's houses during Sundays just to make progress, and how they had to gather enough money to order their props and other costumes with the support of Isura-senpai's negotiation skills and connections to people. They'd worked themselves to the bone for this, and knowing that let a smile creep up to her face as she watched everyone around the table and within the room – it was very clear that because of this, everyone, even the teachers and their senior, had gotten so much closer these past few weeks.

_ Everyone's serious about proving themselves to this school…but at the same time…_

_They're having so much fun…_

"Oh yeah, senpai, I've been meaning to ask you." Sugino directed his stare to the older girl that now had a pitcher of tea in her hands preparing to serve them.

"Hm?"

"What about the other clubs you give support to? Shouldn't they require attention from you too?" this question had also piqued the interest of the other younger ones present in the room as they locked their gazes to the pale-brown haired girl with a yearning for her response.

"Eh? You don't want me here?" she cocked her head to the side in a bit of confusion, but she didn't' exactly look offended by the idea. Once she had asked that question however, right on cue, the infamous brown furball skipped into the room with several repetitions of the word 'Pwi!' as it ran around the wooden floor in a few circles before it left again – and during that entire time, all the freshmen in the room could only stare at it and its peculiar glory with blank expressions (the thoughts underneath weren't so blank).

Seconds after, Sugino carried on with the conversation after a nervous laughter "No, it's not that. It's just – how do you manage your time?" right after that, Yuzuki let herself into the topic and got the words out of her mouth for everyone.

"Now that he's mentioned it senpai, how do you divide yourself? I mean, it should be tough maintaining your grades as a council member and still doing your other errands. I'm honestly surprised how you aren't stressed out most of the time." Pinkish orbs glinted in admiration as she had an impressed look on her features – everyone else seemed to have mimicked this expression of hers and had not let their engrossed stares leave the older girl's bubbly face.

"Oh, that's simple honestly." She beamed again, but this time in a wisdom-bearing type of way as she entertained her juniors with the advice they all had their minds set upon with a raise of her finger "I take the time to check up on the others while I can and give my help to those who need it the most – but it's very useful to have others assist you when you have a lot of responsibilities burdening you. You can't really lead an entire high school alone, after all. So it's always helpful to have connections with people so they could do you the favor of handling some of the smaller jobs. Although it may be hard to trust others depending on your preferences as the leading model, I think it's good to keep in mind that the difference in people's tastes and opinions combined together can make a surprising result – maybe something amazing, but it all depends on how well you can communicate with each other." Content with the observation that they were taking her words to heart, she concluded her statement "You'll need that a lot more _after_ high school. So I just made it a point to practice it now."

Hums of comprehension came from the intrigued characters of the room as some nodded and started taking this counsel to consideration. It'd be a blatant lie if they said this girl didn't impress them albeit her weirdness as a person – heck this was more influencing compared to when they'd hear about Bitch-sensei's stories with her assassinations since this concerned their now common lifestyles after they'd left that part of their lives behind. Karma took notice of how all of his former classmates were beginning to look up to the brunette after having spent more time with her over the past few weeks – this didn't bother him though, he was truthfully happy for her; he respected her too and that was already a lot out of him. Besides, someone in the room admired her first before everyone else did. Being interested in the topic himself, he listened in – maybe he could get something useful out of it; fortunately, he did. "Senpai, it's kind of startling how you sound so experienced." He praised her first and was replied to with a sheepish grin. In continuation with his participation to the conversation, he taunted someone in his next statement "Much unlike someone so much older in here."

"Oi." Without a moment passing, Mikagura-sensei shot him a glare.

"Oh! That gives me an idea!" thankfully, Yuzuki's exclamation stopped the both of them from having a controversy and let them instead direct their attention to her – her fist had been gently applied to her open palm and her eyes glinted with enlightenment before she let them land on where the younger chemist was "Why don't we hold individual practices for you this week?"

"Individual Practices?" Manami cocked her head to the side.

"Oh, I see where you're going with this." Rio nodded and also shifted her stare to their main role with a grin "Maybe one on one practice can do you some help. It's less nerve-wracking right? And it's just the last bit you're problematic with anyway."

Sugino followed through with a nod of his head out of consideration "Yeah, we still have a few things to work on with the heavy things so it should be easier for all of us – we'll save time and people power too."

"I'm not against it; I have to perform a little more tests with the air guns." Chiba remarked next to further support the idea their otaku clubmate just announced and earned him a nod from the other stoic character of the group sitting next to him.

"I'm sure everyone has a number of things left to do on their lists, so how about it?" Yuzuki carried on with her suggestion with high hopes of her submitting to it.

"Sure but…" her concern was clear to everyone, so Rio had to back their proposal up by giving her a wink and placing her hands on her hips "Isura-senpai said so, right? It'd be nice to have everyone's different methods and opinions come together from time to time to create something that'll surprise everyone."

Everyone had been relieved when she presented them with a smile and a nod of her head that came with a lively "Mm!"

"Alright, starting tomorrow then." Sugino concluded the discussion and before they knew it, the group proceeded with their usual antics again before they were to return to another few hours of preparation.

Curious as to why he had been silent, Manami let her eyes travel to the one side of the room the tall boy she knew quite well rested himself upon – he wasn't doing much of anything, he only kept a smile on and interjected himself to some of the conversations even if only seconds had passed. But to her surprise, just by observing him for a small amount of time had brought up a memory shortly after.

_'…Manami.'_

She wasn't sure why it he mind had let that resurface all of a sudden, but then again what was even more flabbergasting was why she suddenly felt heat rise to her cheeks and have them go red.

* * *

The sun was well on its way to disappearing for the day – although that fact may be so, it didn't let the work two chemists with quite the notable age gap from working in the Kimii High School's chemistry lab.

There was barely any hint of orange left outside, but it did leave a few spots of it and even had some of the sun's rays reflect through the windows of the brightly lit laboratory. Metals and glass equipment clanked together in their small collisions with each other as four hands worked on some formulas with care and knowledgeable experience within this field of science – what's more, both who were in the midst of their experimenting had spectacles though of different shapes. Even after the rest of the participants of their cultural fest project had gone home, Okuda Manami and her chemistry teacher, Mikagura Midori, chose to stay a little longer so they may finish up with their job as the effects makers for the attraction. There were complications with how they were to apply it to the set and how to let it play out in this project; in fact, the formulas they were going to use for this were one of the most important parts of the set-up that will blow nearly everyone's minds – but such complications had been eased after they had put much thought into it and because all members of this organization were brilliant and intelligent too, so it didn't turn out to be that hard.

Steam and bubbles emanated from a single table at the very back of this quite spacious room within a set of flasks, beakers, cylinders and test tubes lined up properly in an organized manner. Mikagura prudently lifted one of them to her eye level and inspected it before she held a hand out to her left side where the much shorter girl was "Manami, can you pass me one of the empty test tubes?"

Seconds passed, and yet she felt no ounce of glass touch her hand neither did she sense any movement coming from the raven-haired girl. Obviously there was something amiss – this only proved it more when she turned her head to find her lavender eyes staring off into space while her hands played with the tongs, letting them create small 'tick' sounds in a monophonic pattern. Without much thought, the older girl set the flask in her hand down and lightly applied a chop to her head and eventually let a panic rise to the shorter one.

"A-Ah! S-Sorry, sensei…" Manami turned her head away guiltily right after she had come back to her senses – however, a strange aura that she sensed behind her had led her to face her teacher whom now had both knuckles supporting her chin as she let her elbows prop themselves on the table; green eyes that held nothing but wicked slyness looked up at her as it went along with a smirk that honestly creeped the braided girl out for a drop of sweat had gone down her head in her discomfort to the trouble-making look she was giving her right now.

"Hnn?" orange eyebrows raised themselves wittingly.

"Uh…sensei?" she had to stop herself from stepping back for she knew all too well that something not so pleasant to her would come out of this (experience from both Karma and Rio).

Mikagura unfolded a finger to point it to her as her smirk only grew wider "Just now, you're thinking of a boy, aren't you?"

Right after the words registered, the shy girl's face had a shade of deep red spread across her cheeks as she felt her entire body tense up and had her eventually drop the tongs in her hand to the floor with an audible _clang_ – she'd been found out "H-Heh?!"

And that reaction from her just confirmed it – and once the green-eyed woman was sure of it, her adult-like atmosphere had immediately changed into the kind of impression a gossip-loving teenager would give out "Hahh! Who is it? Is it someone from your class? What about him? You're interested in something? _Tell me_." She incessantly leaned forward as she threw each question at a fast pace with demand laced in her tone.

All the while, Manami was much too taken aback by this bombardment of questions that all she could do was stutter a few incomprehensible words and flush even deeper "N-n-n-n-n-not at all! I'm—"

"KYAA!" the orange-haired teacher's hands came up to her now pinkish face while she straightened herself up and hopped up from her sudden hype at the topic "How cute! Oh youth brings such wonders!"

"S-Sensei!" her student whined to her – face still red and all from her embarrassment which had her voice go up at a higher pitch and only make Mikagura even more turned on. But even with this flaw of hers as a human being, she kept in mind that she was supposed to be the more mature character in the room, therefore she ceased her teases and laughed the rest of her hype away for the meantime "So? What about him is bothering you? What's gotten you so worked up?"

"E-Erm…" after recovering from her flustered state, her eyes met with the blank wall to the side again in her uncertainty and evident uneasiness to the subject.

"C'mon, you can tell me anything." She was reassured by a more composed voice now – indicating she was willing to listen to her troubles and counsel her properly if she can.

Manami had always had a liking to this teacher, so she deemed that it would be fine to address her worries to her – she didn't understand them herself and had her head all around it for days now; it was about time she relayed these feelings to someone else other than herself.

"I…don't know. I don't understand really…It's just that…I'm…" it was hard to get the words appropriately arranged in her head – and it especially didn't help when her heart had started to boom with strong beats that made her body tense up and unknowingly let her hand over it in a (failed) attempt to have the beats steady. Moments passed, and she still hadn't been able to get any words to describe her clutter of feelings – but even without much effort, Mikagura-sensei got the message and softened her expression, a tender smile curling her lips as she leaned back on the table and crossed her arms.

"Manami, are you familiar with a few famous quotes from different artists out there?"

"Quotes?" her brows furrowed in confusion for a bit – how did the discussion lead to quotations?

A finger had been raised as the woman in the lab coat began to speak with a wise-like tone _"The moment I met him, my life changed. Everything I saw, everything I heard, everything I felt… all the scenery around me started to take color."_

And that was when another memory clicked all so suddenly – underneath what she always perceived as a grey sky in the beginning weeks of her first year of high school's spring; in one encounter, cleared up on the day wide, purple eyes met with equally surprised mercury orbs she hadn't seen in quite some time upon an isolated bench found in the school – a place where no one but them could share their lunch together in the delight of each other's company. The flower petals that elegantly flew through the gentle spring breeze had taken on a pinker shade; a livelier one that welcomed the new season and its succeeding days. And the sunset that allured her even more now when it came to view on the day he waited for her by the river and greeted her with a smile. The taste of her first grape juice touched her tongue's remembrances as well – and how she had come to change her regular drink from dull water to a fruity mix that brought wonders to her taste buds.

Blinking herself back to reality, she let her eyes meet with caring, jade orbs that took aid behind the spectacles of their owner.

"Did you ever feel that before? Were you able to meet someone that was able to do that?" she paused just for a moment for her next words to have some kind of impact as she let her smile stretch wider before facing the young scientist's searching expression "Is he the one you're thinking about right now?"

Just then, Manami couldn't find her answer – rather, she had just been hit with some kind of realization she didn't understand wholly; but she knew very well that she wouldn't understand color had he not appeared with the first one out of the rainbow – and with that first color, she had been introduced to many others. The orange sunset, the yellow hair of someone she never thought would become a close friend, the green trees of the Nagoya forest brought out wonderfully by the golden lights of nature, the blue sky of her most cherished days that all led to the change in how purple orbs viewed her surroundings and had a brightness to them that looked forward to her days now that they were out of their grayscale state.

_'So stop looking down and look up once in a while, hm?'_

Another blink before she let her lavender eyes that now glossed with interest and insight widened a tad as she lifted her head with her mouth slightly agape to be level her gaze with her teacher again. Mikagura stifled a nearly non-existent chuckle "If a man like that comes to your life, then—"

The ringtone of some shoujo anime Manami often heard on TV vibrated against the lab pocket of her chemistry instructor and abrupt their little talk – which sort of ruined the flow of things; that, and she was just reminded that this woman that happened to be close to her guardian was an otaku.

"Oh? Who's this?" with a swift movement, she flipped her phone open and spent a few seconds just staring at it blankly – the braided introvert was about to ask her about it until the older woman had a dark and hostile aura envelope her. And before she knew it a loud '_clack'_ came from the slam of her phone shut before she smashed it to the table repetitively; inevitably having panic arise to the teenager as she frantically tried stopping the supposedly more mature person in the room from spilling the work they had done "Mi-Mi-Mikagura-sensei?! P-P-Please be carefu—WAH!" the flying insides of an old cellphone (such as batteries and SIM) had caused her to jerk backwards and only watch as the other heaved deep breaths in and out before she sharply turned back to her with wild and hateful eyes.

"FORGET EVERYTHING I SAID!"

"C-COME AGAIN?!" Manami had to respond in an equal volume due to her own agitation unconsciously – and out of some fear.

"Listen up Manami. **_ALL_** men are scum and will only **_ever_** bring a dark saturation in your life that will nauseate you and your spirit itself! Screw color! MEN DON'T HAVE I—OW!" just as the laboratory had reached a deafening level of noise, Mikagura had been silenced by a newcomer in the room smacking the back of her head with some notable force for the victim had to jolt forward and hold the injured area with both hands.

"What are you trying to get into her head? You lonely creep." Inari stated nonchalantly – but there was an obvious hint of great disapproval (and disappointment) to her way of presenting herself as a 'good role model' to the young ones; that, and there was the fact that she was absolutely fed up with her troubles with the many men she'd let into her life.

Once the orange-headed chemist had regained some of her composure again (if you could call it composure), she grit her teeth and pointed at her best friend with a scowl "Tch! Inari! You're not one to talk! Your personality drives men away so you _obviously _have zero experience with dating! You don't know the pain of being played with!"

"The only reason you're terrible with men is because you're easy." Inari said bluntly – with a scoff after, even. Her hands were put upon her waist as she only gave the other one of her age an apathetic look with her half-lidded, narrow eyes and the sarcastic raise of her eyebrows.

Mikagura-sensei couldn't even talk properly due to how straightforward and downright cold that was (must've been where Manami got the former trait) for all she had done as a response to that was an exaggerated gasp that only made her step back as if she had just been shot with a cannonball look even more overreactive.

Another scoff came from the short-haired school nurse as she raised an eyebrow "Don't look so surprised." This came through more like a plead rather than a command – as if she should already be aware considering the number of men she had just been cheated on with; saying 'easy' was already sugarcoating it a lot.

After a pout and the flip of her hair, the curly-haired orangehead pointed another exaggerated accusatory finger at the other woman whom only rolled her eyes and cocked her head to the side lazily in response "EH! Your stupid words don't mean a thing since you don't understand how much heartbreak hurts! _NOR _your smacks!" she held the back of her head at the last three words just to prove her point as she glared at her expression of disinterest.

"You're not used to it?" yet another blunt sentence coming from Inari – only this time she had a small smirk on and crossed her arms slyly at her friend. Seeing these two acting their usual selves brought a smile to the shy girl's face after the slightly nervous laugh "Sensei, are you okay?" – she was courteous enough to ask about her condition for even she knew just how painful those smacks can be since she lived with her and all.

It was like just by hearing her student's gentle and kind voice was enough to bring Mikagura back to a slightly better mood (either that, or she's mostly just mad in general whenever Inari is around and the one she's talking to). Her grin came back with the wave of her hand to support her following set of words

"Oh, don't worry about it!"

"Are you sure?" Manami had to make sure since the sound of her head getting hit earlier hadn't just caused her to flinch a bit, but the smack resonated through the now only white lighted facility for the sky had given them a dark-purplish, bluish color that had twinkling lights attached to it – the crescent moon hid behind the dark clouds of the mysterious night.

She replied to this with a laugh "Of course! I mean, back when we were rivals, this woman was extra violent to the point it left a mark!"

Inari's eyes widened.

"Rivals?" right when that bewildered question escaped the lips of the only fifteen year old in the room, Mikagura immediately felt a dagger of regret pierce through her soul as she too felt her eyeballs shrink and took in a sharp breath upon realization of what she had just disclosed.

"Why were you two rivals?" Manami furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and slightly tilted her head as she stared up at the two adults with perplexity – her grip loosened on the graduated cylinder she had her fingers around as she set it down gently.

And as if it were rehearsed, Inari and Mikagura compressed themselves next to each other with their hands behind their backs as they beamed at her innocently – this did nothing but add up to the confusion the girl already possessed just by their unexpected actions and sudden change in behavior.

"No particular reason~" the bespectacled orangehead reassured her followed by her maroon-crowned guardian who nodded to her once, still keeping a smile that hid away true intentions on "It was just over something silly."

Behind these innocent, smiling faces that continued to throw reassurances to the child, the hands that hid themselves had another thing going on with them for as they talked, Inari's nails were in the middle of digging into Mikagura's right wrist as the latter tried to do tap outs by using her left hand to try and slap her deadly grip away and almost as if in a form of saying a panicked 'Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!' – no matter how many times she tried to pry her hands away however, they were still caught under the mercy of Inari's raging strength and extra-long nails today for she was practically crushing her wrist right now.

"Really?" the concern in the braided girl's voice increased especially when her teacher had begun to show signs of getting injured – and added to that, the more they kept reassuring her that way, all the more questioning she got for it was clear they basically refused to tell her.

"Yes, yes. It was just some minor slip u—AHAHAHAA!" Mikagura masked the pain with a forced laughter for Inari had twisted her wrists with audible _crack_'s from behind – speaking of which, the earlier innocent smile now showed indications of irksomeness as her mouth twitched up on one side along with a single brow.

That evening, Manami had only gotten even more flabbergasted.

_Another thing about Inari-nee...I didn't know about?_

* * *

**PAPARARA~! YAY! NOW WE CAN GO ON!  
**

**Now you all must be thinking: Dafuq was that?**

**Well I can't tell you. The characters will so HA XD**

**...I tried. I really did. BUT! I hope it's more worth it in the next chapter!**

**Like always, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! And though there's not much in this chapter again, I hope you take the time to point out anything notable and tell me how you feel~**

**Any hunches on Manami's past anyone? Or is it still so vague you can't really get your finger around it? Well don't fret too much cuz I'll be explaining it soon~! ^W^**

**LOVE YOU GUYS FOR READING!**

**Til next time!**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	18. Chapter 18

**OKay let's make this short my mom is mad XDD **

**ALRIGHT! I come to you with the first chapter of this very long arc but I regret to inform you it's the first half of the first chapter only so the one I will post hours later (after I sleep lol XD) will be chapter 1.5**

**Yes this is all because it turned out longer than I expected _again_ XDD**

**But please do try to sink in that this chapter and the next one after this as one. Yes I am fully aware that this is long enough but the next one is longer Im gomene XDD**

**Oh okay let's make this real quick before my fate is changed forever X'3**

**REPLIES~!: (a little rushed cuz Im dead to my mom)**

**Akatsuki-Metal: I will~ Don't worry! I'll be sure to do it! Once again, thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**kawaiichoconeko: THANK YOU FOR LIKING IT 8'3 Well I wouldn't really say she doesn't want to do it but all will be explained in this chapter~! (Please look forward to the continuation [1.5] as well!)**

**FeatherStar18208: Yes~ So glad you noticed the KimiUso XD Thanks for reviewing!**

**TheRoseShadow21: OH YES~ Thanks for the review and for noticing that reference ;D ABout the SYOC I'll see if I have time**

**Title Unwanted: Thanks for the review! And I hope you stay tuned to find out~ ^w^**

**OKAY ENOUGH IM DYING OUT OF ANXIETY SO**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN NOTHING**

* * *

**Chapter 18: What You Are to Me (Part 1: Things I don't know)**

_"Why don't we hold individual practices for you this week?"_

_"Individual Practices?"_

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 1: Sugino Tomohito**

"Why are we in the batting field?"

The mentioned area was empty, to say the least. Usually after class hours you'd find a few students walking about or at least passing by; but upon this autumn Saturday class of Kimii high school, Manami and Sugino were caught with quite the surprise to see that they had the large area to themselves even in this bright afternoon where there'd usually be players training.

A spiky-haired boy walked ahead of the petite chemistry lover by several steps – about four meters apart within the field as he made his way next to the soccer net where a basket of baseballs were stationed. He had one hand inserted into a pocket whilst the left had covered itself in a brown baseball glove with the initials of the school inscribed on it; indicating he only borrowed it along with the baseball bat and oversized helmet the girl behind him had with her right now; upon further inspection, the helmet was big enough to . Once he had positioned himself in a fair distance from her after he had told her to stop on top of the pitching plate.

"It was Fuwa-san's idea, but I saw nothing bad about it so here's how I'm going to play out your practice for today. Are you okay with being outside?" He kept an energetic grin yet polite grin on as he set himself down on the dry ground in an indian sitting position.

Manami nods to him, determined albeit how she seemed to struggle a bit with the weight of her bat for its tip had only been dragged across the soil. But from her expression and the look in her eyes, Sugino took it that she would try anything just to get the part right, he smiles with contentment and grabs the basket of baseballs to his right.

"Yush, then here's what we're gonna do." He brought out one of the balls and made sure she had a good look at it by holding it out "Every time you make a mistake, I'll pitch you a ball and you have to hit it as fast as you can – otherwise you'll have to run over there and get it. Fuwa-san told me not to be too nice, but tell me if you get tired."

Had he not mentioned that, she wouldn't have realized that the positions they were in were completely opposite to how it should be during official games – rather than her having a net behind her to catch the balls for her, the vast field was the only thing that waited for anything that came their way; and though this may be quite the source for a bit of uneasiness, she had to admit she'd gone through worse in middle school.

The resolve in her eyes to do well did not falter after she had grasped her surroundings and faced the dark-haired boy with another nod "It's okay. I'll trust Sugino-kun with his methods."

Sugino smiled at her fortitude with ease – she really had changed compared to before. "Okay, let's start then."

"Now?" her earlier countenance wavered for a moment to blink at him quizzically and had been replied to with an immediate nod.

"From which part?"

"The one you're having a hard time with."

"O-Okay…" Manami cleared her throat and took a few breaths to turn on that creepy side of her that she honed within weeks of intense practicing. A shadow loomed over her murderous purple eyes that were only given a much scarier effect by the glint on one side of her glasses as a threatening scowl came to be.

"I ask of you, child of ma—AH!"

He already threw one.

* * *

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 2: Nakamura Rio**

"Nope, still not good enough. Start over."

"Why do I have to do it while posing like this?"

"No reason~" within the hands of a mischievous female that masked her malice underneath a bright smile was an iphone that was well on its way to expending its memory after the number of shots she just took of her bespectacled friend with one of the new get-ups she let her try on today that came from their shopping getaway in the middle of summer – it wasn't a revealing outfit, though it did cause her to entice a few gazes of men they passed by on their way to the clubroom. Her usual braids were on, but they weren't so usual anymore what with the Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz costume – it had proved to fit her very well with the balloon skirt and frilly apron with the bows and puffed sleeves; she even made her put on white bunny stockings and closed red shoes. Rather than letting others who they passed by see her as a student, they had thought her to be an official cosplayer visiting the school for the cultural fest and drooled at how dorky yet absolutely adorable the look she gave out was

To Rio's luck, all the other members were outside working on their own parts with the two middle-aged woman that always spared time to help them – if they weren't, she would've been dead to Yuzuki, Karma and probably even Rinka if they found out. Sure, she'd been warned numerous times by her otaku friend to 'take it seriously'; knowing that if Nakamura Rio was left with her, things were bound to be a disaster – and apparently this is Rio's definition of 'serious'.

Manami fidgeted out of discomfort and embarrassment evident on her cheeks as she twiddled her fingers nervously out in front of her – she was told to come to school bringing the outrageous dress in hopes of donating it to someone else, but such hopes were smashed to tiny bits once she was tricked into putting it on by none other than the former 3-E's Gal English. This led to that and now she was poised like a teenage magazine model by the golden light of the window looking at her friend grin with wicked satisfaction as she tapped on her phone.

"Hm…" an uncomfortable hum came from the frown on the geek's face as her fidgets only doubled once she had taken consciousness of the possibility of anyone walking into them at the time – she'd be absolutely mortified were someone else to see her this way.

"By the way," Rio's voice cut Manami from her thoughts and had the latter raise her head with question "Are you wearing the pair we bought you?"

"Pair?" the raven-haired girl's confusion had been short-lived for the blond answered her by pointing to her top and bottom – and not a moment after she realized what she meant, her body went into a rush of adrenaline; as her heart began to pound at a high rate due to the sudden nervousness…

And fear.

"A-Ah! E-E-Er—!" judging by the agitated reaction and the fact that she had become tongue-tied out of obvious guilt, Rio frowned, utterly displeased.

"One more time. Say your line." Her tone was more firm now compared to all the other commands she had given her that day – in fact, this was more like a demand that had the shorter girl taken aback since she was still far from recovering from her state of panic.

"E-Eh—"

"If I don't like it I'm taking it off." She didn't get what she meant by 'taking it off' at first, but once Rio had grabbed a paper bag that contained an extra pair she brought with them today due to the suspicion that the eyeglass-ed girl would not put on the undergarments they bought with her, it became clear to Manami what she meant by that sentence and she impulsively stepped back after another yelp – so _that's_ what she meant.

Panic overwhelming her, she didn't even get to gather herself before she spouted out her lines "I-I ask of you—"

Rio opened the paper bag.

"AH!"

* * *

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 3: Hayami Rinka**

Rinka silenced her with the sharp movement of her arm for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

"It's not scary at all. Do it again."

They used one of the freshmen classrooms today – 1-B to be exact – for her individual practice while everyone worked with what they could in the school gym. It had been an hour and a half since they had started and the pigtailed girl had not once let her finish up; when the girl was about business, she _will_ be about business – was what Manami learned that day. Albeit knowing she had good intentions and had readied herself for this kind of training, lavender eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the tiled floor of the classroom in an almost bleak manner as her proctor kept her arms crossed and let her back face her in some sort of harsh-like training that you'd probably find in militaries (just how long did she hang out with Lovro during the spring break before high school?) – eyebrows were scrunched together in mild irksomeness as her head faced the blackboard.

"You need to be more threatening if you want to leave a great impact." Her businesslike and straightforward tone kept constant from the minute they started – the only things that really changed were the expressions she gave her; it ranged from stoic to disapproving to just a glare of disappointment most of the time. After not hearing an answer from her, Rinka's frown deepened and she turned her heel to meet the girl's eyes.

"Oi, are you listen…ing…" the moment green eyes perceived her completely disheartened form, whatever callousness she had developed for this practice had diminished as her ice-cold mask shifted into one of surprise that turned to concern – the determination she had always had with her since the day they began was starting to deplete.

"Hey, Manami…" the sniper stepped towards her and gently put a hand on her slumped shoulder for moral support as she leaned her head down a little to have a look at those dreary purple orbs protected by the support of her eyeglasses "I'm sorry for being straightforward, but—"

"It's okay. I'm used to it but…" the tone she used to cut her off was soft and dismayed, but it still made an effort to keep polite "that's not what this is about…"

"Mm?" was the only sound Rinka could make before Manami settled herself down onto the nearest desk with a distressed sigh. Right after the green-orbed girl followed where she was going with this action, she too had sat herself down on the chair right in front of the desk the other chose to mope upon – she didn't say anything after, she only waited for her to explain what it is that bothered her if it was not the methods she used to play out this rehearsal by turning the chair to the side so she could rest her arm on the table.

For seconds, there was only silence – not even the faint bustles of the autumn trees outside reached their ears through the shut, glass windows that reflected against the orange-ish light the cloudy sky brought with it; no blue could be spotted from their side of the spherical dome that covered the earth, but it made up for it with the sun that hid behind the clouds yet glowed brightly enough to give those cotton-like materials some color. With that being said, such colors were able to bring forth radiance to this room that could never be brought about by man – the shadows of the two girls could be made out on the glossy, white floor along with the empty school desks as they sat on the column of chairs next to the window.

Not wanting to drag this out for the both of them and leave her friend hanging, Manami finally conveyed her thoughts in the same soft and tentative voice "Haya…Rinka-san, why did you choose me to do this?"

Emerald blinked once after this, but kept herself reserved to hear more of what she wanted to say with a blank demeanor.

"It's not as if I don't want to do it…I really do want this but…If I can't get it right now…I'm not sure if I can do it on the day itself…" the introverted girl rested her chin upon her crossed arms that rested on the table to let this statement out with a muffled sound against her blazer's sleeves.

Rinka's expression softened after she heard this from her – turning her head to the right to have a look at the blackboard with a cultural festival countdown on it (5 days) for no particular reason.

With another silence as her answer, Manami continued "You guys made a horror theme and made it really…really amazing. But why did you let me have the biggest part?" this time, she buried her head completely – using her arms to cover her despondent face; she had been corrected over and over for the past few days now, so it shouldn't be so surprising to see her this distraught. "You said so yourself, I'm not scary at all when it comes to that point…and I don't really know how to leave an impression or impact like you said…" she trailed off after that, but the message was clear to the ginger when the other's arms tightened around each other.

Despite this response, Rinka couldn't help but feel a little lighthearted; though these two were not what you would have considered close before, they were now intimate enough to be able to relay things to each other without much hesitance. And there was no trace of a lie or of anything but genuine when she at last let words out of her mouth with-

"You will pull it off."

"You can't say for sure…what if—"

"You'll pull it off." It was more firm this time – without doubt and no wane at all as she fixed her sharp eyes to where her shy friend rested her head and watched her steadily raise it up to meet her orbs with her own. Manami blinked up at her, prodding her to continue.

The pigtailed girl had to pause for a while to find the appropriate words to express her thoughts. With the turn of her head to the windows, she spotted a bluebird scratching one of its wings with its beak with the rapid movement of its head before it soared away into the bright sky – revealing the patch of clouds that broke away to reveal the sun at its pre-sunset phase. Finding this to be of great help somehow, she kept her gaze to it and spoke with a somehow reminiscent voice that did not feign guidance "Do you remember that time when you exploded in front of Mimura? Or the time you helped me with my problem with Chiba? I'm sure you were very scared and uncertain during those times…just like you are now." She blinked slowly and let a warm smile curl her lips upwards "But even if you were, you were able to leave a big mark on everyone's hearts, and mine; marvelously, at that. So we can trust you to do this. And you _will_ leave a great memory for everyone." Rinka moved her head to meet her wondered lavender eyes again and softened her expression out of the sincerity she had when she concluded her statement

"…and that includes us."

Hearing this from her, and with a voice that was far from how she usually sounded, to say Manami was touched was too much of an underestimation. She could only stare back up at her, wide-eyed for words could not express the amount of gratitude she felt for her encouraging words and the warm feeling that spread throughout her chest just now as she looked back at those courageous times of her life. Those times she mustered up enough strength and reached out – and she was heard, she was seen, she was noticed and finally, she was remembered; had she not done so, her classmates would've still treated her the same way they always did, and she wouldn't have been able to have this kind of conversation with the girl in front of her right now.

All of a sudden, Rinka's shoulders perked up a tad and had suddenly gotten conscious. She turned her head away and fidgeted a little – which the science-loving girl had to admit was funny since usually _she_ was the one that reacted that way. There was a slight tinge on her cheeks as she looked away and had a voice laced with hesitation "Th-that didn't sound too cheesy, right now, did it?"

A light laughter emanated from the bespectacled poison lover as she lifted her head off her arms "Not at all." She reassured her before a gratifying beam stretched her distraught face away as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

"Thank you, Rinka-san." Manami's eyes gave out tenderness and all in all just a happy feeling that brought the sniper at ease and returned her a contented smile of her own. Unknowingly, she was reminded of the earlier times within the year – how she wasn't even sure if the girl could make this kind of face because she was always so helpless and unconfident, but then, after another moment of looking at her, a thought had come up

_'You've gotten stronger since then.'_

"Good. Now again." Her tone was back to being bossy and commanding as she lifted herself from her seat, but there was something different now – a smile was present as well as a new glint of determination as she placed a fist upon her waist and stared down at her over her shoulder in some leader-like form.

"Oh! O-Oh right!" with a bit of agitation, Manami sprung to her feet and had the chair and desk she sat on squeak against the floor in a series of loud taps due to the friction – which was apparently at a high enough volume for her to be surprised about due to its suddenness and her own.

Seeing this common reaction from her, Rinka's smile changed into a knowing smirk _'But you still have a ways to go.'_

After she cleared her throat and composed herself, lavender eyes that were just wide with earlier alarm had become accustomed to a ghostly look she had already mastered before she let her tone go deep and attempted to sound threatening.

"I ask of you, child of man, whom brought about in this world by your tainted ascendants, do you know—"

"Nope. Again."

* * *

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 4: Fuwa Yuzuki**

"Better than before but still needs a bit more work. I don't feel enough of it coming from you!"

"That's not the first time I heard that but...Yuzuki-chan, shouldn't you put that shounen manga down?"

And here she thought this would be the most normal practice of the week.

* * *

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 5: Chiba Ryuunosuke**

"That was a lot better than before, but I really have to point out how you're extra conscious of your last lines."

Manami sighed at this – it was still the same type of comments even after days of practice, after all.

The two of them occupied the same room again so as to leave the rest with their other tasks, only this time it was around lunch time on a Sunday – they had to ask permission to go to school that day because of some trouble with their set; of course it was disheartening to have to come to school and miss a day off, but it was also perfect for her not to waste a day of practice even though part of her had selfishly wished for a break at some point; but with her still having troubles and the same ones at that, she had to tell herself not to succumb to such laziness and work hard even still. They, of course, were encouraged to wear their uniforms anyway instead of civilian clothing – to which not much paid mind to aside from Rio (since she had plans for her getup that day).

What was so wrong with the set that it had to have them attend school for another day? It all started with Sugino sneezing next to a particular pig-bear hybrid which no one knows what species really is and had the creature jump up in terror and start running away – and apparently the direction it ran away to was where Rio had directly been walking to and by pure adrenaline rush she stepped away and had coincidentally tripped on the newly painted board after stepping on it a few times before she landed on the floor right next to Mai who was so startled she let go of a few heavy tools that just _had_ to land on Chiba's foot and have him stumble backward onto where Karma had just finished fixing up one of the traps; thankfully both boys had good enough reaction time to avoid getting caught in their own trap but as a result they both bumped into Rinka who fell backwards and bumped into Mikagura-sensei who had acidic chemicals in her hand that flew out of their containment and were about to spray themselves on Inari-sensei who was fast enough to find something to protect herself with – to another misfortunate event, what she _had _ to use was one of the finished walls of their labyrinth set-up. In conclusion, while everyone else was a fallen mess on the gym floor, the newly painted board had shoe marks on it and at the same time a sizzling sound came from disintegrating wood. No one pointed fingers, they all just groaned – used to each other's madness (this was all while Yuzuki compared Manami to a manga character inside the clubroom).

At present, the two out of three dark-haired characters of the club settled themselves down on empty desks and took a break by consuming their packed lunches.

Not too long had passed before Chiba had started a conversation "Why is it that same part you always have a hard time with?" it wasn't in a lecturing tone – rather, he was more of curious which had Manami a little caught by surprise.

"Eh—well…" she slowly lowered her chopsticks holding an egg sushi back into her bento in her search for an answer. She didn't have to look through too many of her thoughts before her eyes had gone half-lidded due to the shame she felt as she spoke "Well…I'll be looking at a person when I do…it's not like the others where I'm just talking. I guess what's on my mind is how I'm supposed to look at them…maybe it's a little like stage fright…" a half-hearted laugh sounded from her for she thought of how petty the reason for her slip-ups was.

"And that's the only reason why?" his voice sounded a little laced with disbelief as he ceased his snacking just to turn to her inquisitively.

Although she nodded, there was doubt written all over her features which she cared enough to relay to him without letting her eyes leave her half-eaten lunch "But it's strange…I can do the rest fine even when I'm looking at everyone so I'm not sure if it _is_ stage fright…It's because of that…I'm also not sure of why I keep failing at that part…" with ambiguity and helplessness all over her tone, Chiba was sure enough that this came out honestly and found just what he needed to know.

"It's not strange." He said it with matter-of-fact tone that put underneath the stoic voice he always had – faint but it was still there.

"Hn?" this time, she let her head rotate to his side to find him just finished sipping on a milk carton.

"I've been in your shoes before. The feeling will be worse when the day itself arrives." Experience was evident in the way he said it as he let the picture of an island resort and a big plan come back from his not so deep memories; it was still a little fresh being only a year and all.

Well, that was straightforward enough to have Manami purse her lips and move her eyes to the other side with the furrow of her brows in disconcertment to that statement as she let out an "Mm…" – it didn't exactly help like she expected; if anything, she was more scared now.

"It's the feeling of having to absolutely leave the greatest impression to make up for everyone's hard work, right?" Chiba had gone from a stoic and frank tone, it had turned into one of friendliness and had the will to help apparent in it which had her purple eyeballs shift back to where he was to acknowledge this.

"I see it in your face all the time when you watch the others practice." His face remained blank as he remembered the one time everyone gathered at the gym to work and she was told to have a break by the sidelines after working too hard. But even after she had nearly expended all of her energy, the moment he turned to her from his side of the room working on the guns, he didn't fail to notice how she had her shoulders tensed and knees tucked tight – eyes glued to the rest of them with half of her face covered by her arms and knees while she took in every single detail and yet seemed to be in deep thought.

"Because you're conscious about that so much, your voice, expression, movements and terrifying aura would tend to wane without you knowing or doing it on purpose." He continued and found some contentment when she nodded to this in understanding and realization.

"N…Now that I think about it…" Manami put a gently curled fist to her lips – seems she was only able to come to terms with such a possibility now for she had always been unaware that that was what invaded her mind this entire time.

Chiba pauses a while to search for the advice that would be perfect so she could improve – however, in this search he had landed on yet another bittersweet memory. With the turn away of his head as he lowered it to table and the slightly clenched fists that lay upon it, his tone changed again; it was serious again, but with more sincerity and weight to it than she had expected "I'll just be repeating the same things he said to me when I went through the same."

At the mention of 'he', and with the added grief she could tell from his voice's depth, Manami didn't even need to guess who he referred to when immediately their most beloved and forever-will-be-missed octopus teacher's face came to view amidst all the memories.

"It's okay to have a mishap once in a while; because when it does happen, we'll be here to pick you up." He didn't face her as he said this, but the message he wanted to give her was clear as day – and for another time that week, the same warm feeling forms inside her chest from how touched she was by that assurance although she had been reminded of the smiling face of their yellow octopus teacher she loved so much that it wrenched her heart just thinking about how he will only ever exist in their memories now. But then even if she looked back at this from time to time, she still knew that there were things in the present that were worthwhile too. And that was the very fact that she had the best friends she could ever ask for as she thought of her practices with the others before the shabby-haired sniper; even though they had worked her to the bone and probably harassed her from time to time, they still kept her going and didn't give up on her. She wasn't about to give up on them, and with the words Chiba had given her, she felt all the more eased.

"But you're still not scary enough."

And Manami's head slumped forward with an exhausted sigh.

* * *

**INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DAY 6: Akabane Karma**

"What happened out there?"

"Nothing~" what Manami didn't know was that Karma had just finished showering their little eavesdroppers with the milkshake he bought with her in the cafeteria for their break time. Speaking of little eavesdroppers, Yuzuki and Rio were completely stunned not just by the fact that their position was found out in no time at all (under the window of the clubroom outside), but because now they were both bathed in a dairy drink – hair, clothes, and everything else – in just one move of his hand before he shut the sliding window, and they were supposed to think of a way to explain this to the others if they went back to work drenched in sweet, chocolate, milkiness. If they told them the truth, and said that they went to get scoops on what would happen if _those two_ were left alone together in a room for the day (because apparently, it still disturbed them how he started calling her by her first name – they don't know why it's such a bad thing, but they did see it as some kind of threat to their womanly kinship), they'd most probably get one or maybe five hits from Hayami Rinka and/or Inari-sensei. So in the midst of their contemplation for a convincing lie to tell the others how they had ended up as chocolate women, they thought it best to leave the area for good so as to not further torment themselves by irking the redheaded sadist.

"O…Okay…" the braided girl said this reluctantly with the tilt of her head from confusion – but taking it was best that she didn't ask about it anymore knowing he wouldn't answer her directly either way, she let her mouth get taken by the straw of her lemonade drink and savored the taste after another tiring first hour of practice; most especially now since she was under a boy she knew well and had high standards – but that was Kunugigaoka's number one student for you.

Speaking of which, he had settled himself down just next to her on the provided wooden chairs by the window after he set aside his empty bottle and ate away his chocolate bar. They were used to eating together in silence at times – they did it every day at lunch time; and since they went home together as well, anyone who would pass by would instantly feel that powerful easygoing relationship vibe from them albeit them both being quite the troublesome pair. It was comfy and had no sense of dragging or wearisomeness in the atmosphere – much to their own satisfaction as well for at the moment, they did nothing but bask in the coziness of each other's company.

Relaxing the mood may be, given the silence, all Manami could do at the moment was let her thoughts linger upon everyone's comments on her performances for the past five days. At the same time, she had let an idea fly by with these aimless ponders and was only able to stare into blank space with eyes that delved deeply into her mind – there was obviously something she wanted to say or make clear of judging by the way she made it so visible from the way her body just sat there, unmoving. Taking this into account, Karma leaned closer to her and let his head rest on her own playfully – taking advantage of her short form by relaxing the back of it on top of hers and letting a smile keep plastered on his face "What's on your mind?"

She didn't complain about the weight of his head and taller form upon her – instead what he got out of her was a lighthearted giggle followed by her head turning slightly to his side, but careful enough to not make the move so sudden and startle him "Was I that obvious?"

"It's not that hard to tell." He said this with a bit of matter-of-fact to it and even took another bite out of the bar in his hands to somehow prove that it was _very_ easy. Even with the somehow indirect insult, another laugh came from her which brought forth an amused smile to his features – and for some reason, he finds the position they were in quite comfortable due to the height difference.

"Well? Are you going to say it or do I have to make you say it?" though this was polite, he didn't hide some of the mischief in his tone which gave her the impression that he was ready to get it out of her if he really needed to (or wanted to) albeit it being a joke.

"Ah—Ehehe…well…" Hearing this, Manami had begun to feel some nervousness and hesitance form inside of her – not only because now that he knew there was something bugging her that he'd eventually try to find out, but also because what she had in her mind involved…

"Well…?" his eyeballs curiously moved to the side to somehow get a glimpse of her even with their positions. From the way she went about it, he could tell that it was something she could disclose but had difficulty in doing so – therefore some of his worries of prying too much had been put to ease; however, it'd only been replaced by some bewilderment.

She pursed her lips and felt her eyes go wide in her process of mustering courage.

_'It's not scary at all.'_

_'But you're still not scary enough.'_

A gulp went down her throat "Uh…er….uhm…"

Karma narrowed his eyes suspiciously and lifted himself off of her just to get a good look of her face and probably make her more comfortable that way. When he was able to take in a few things, he could easily see how nervous droplets of sweat made its way down as they travelled across some sort of dark expression on her face he had to admit was the first time he saw and felt a bit of discomfort with it – her fingers were even tapping together from anxiety as her eyes went from side to side. He blinked, outwardly nonchalant and was about to tell her it was fine until- "SORRY!" – yeah, that happened.

"Hah?" was all that could escape his mouth for in her haste and adrenaline rush, she was already able to stand directly in front of him – at a fair distance too for she nearly reached the other side of the room. To more of his puzzlement, she bowed her entire upper body to him in some kind of over-formal, traditional way which only made him raise an eyebrow.

"Forgive me for my rudeness! But…! But…!" Manami gulped once more for courage as she shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fists hard enough to make her shoulders tense up and body look stiff

"K-Karma-kun! Please teach me how to be scary!"

He wasn't sure what exactly to be surprised about; the fact that she just admitted that at one point she saw him that way so frankly or simply by how absurd that question sounded. " _'How to be scary.'_?" He had to repeat in case he got that right with the scrunch of his eyebrows as he wondered what on earth she was going on about now. Sure, sometimes her conversations would be so odd that he'd come to get used to it at some points, but in the end there were still lots of things he's yet to get himself accustomed to.

She raised herself from her bowed position after she heard that and moved her eyes around the room frantically – she was obviously overthinking about if that offended him and all other sorts of troublesome thoughts from the way her fingers played with themselves in front of her stomach "I-Is that too much to ask?"

"No, but…" his brows were furrowed as he tried to analyze this with a chin resting on his palm and curled fingers while his elbow took support from his other hand.

_'Oh well…' _When he came to the conclusion that he doubts she actually knows what she's saying, he smiled; amused at her agitation with as he observed her more with yet another raised eyebrow.

Manami sighed shamefully and slumped her shoulders down in somewhat distress as she turned her head upwards to face the ceiling with a troubled expression before she bowed again – this time it was only her head "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked something so weir—"

"Alright."

"Huh?" her head rose sharply to meet with his casual, smiling face again. _'Did he just…?'_

"I'll teach you if you want it so bad." he chimed at her and was already standing up and preparing himself to approach her – a relaxed smile that gave out no harmful intent gracing his face after he set his chocolate bar aside and hid his hands inside his pockets. On the other hand, Manami was caught at complete astonishment with how he just agreed to something like that so easily.

"W-Wait! A-Are you serious?! A-And are you re-really okay with it?"

All of a sudden, the casual approach he had had drastically become tense just by his silence – the atmosphere had become so heavy she felt her eyes widen a bit and as if her body had a mind of its own, she stepped back instinctively due to the aura he brought with him.

"K…" it appeared as if even her _words_ were too afraid to come out and face him for she found herself completely speechless by how well he had changed the mood of the bright room just by keeping quiet.

His voice was the same as usual when he started, but somehow that only gave it an all-the-more terrifying vibe "First, it depends on the approach. You could go with false friendliness or show your power over them by making it clear…or maybe make sure you have them alone…"

"Wh—" she didn't even get to finish or respond in time for before she knew it, she was shoved onto the nearest wall a little roughly and was completely cornered by him now that he put an arm to block her exit – not to mention he towered over her by several inches so she couldn't do anything; she felt her body and mind completely lose themselves and succumb to his control – all the more when she locked gazes with his sharp eyes that appeared to hunger for something, like he had his target sighted on her and was waiting for the perfect moment to…

Assassinate her.

To more of her bafflement to the situation, his voice went deep and quiet to a certain level that brought chills to her spine that traveled up and down like a nest of crawling spiders "And then you make sure there's no escape, and when you know they're under your control, they end up not being able to think of anything else."

He was right; she couldn't think of anything else at the moment and completely lost herself by everything he did to her at the time. The look in his eyes she couldn't quite understand, the voice he used that sent her goosebumps, and just by being that close she couldn't move at all – like he had her under a spell of some sorts. And right now, she was having the firsthand experience of Akabane Karma's infamous 'scariness' for the first time. Her heart beat steadily, as if it wanted her body to go cold and lose the warmth and complexion her blood gave her as he spoke once more "Once you've done that…" he leaned his face in closer to somehow be in level with hers and have her directly meet his intimidating gaze – and his voice was extra bone-chilling when he finished "You get to do whatever you want with them."

Her eyes widened at that – there were only a few sensations she could feel at the time, and one of them was the fact that he was so close his lips were basically inches away for she could practically feel his breath against hers in her attempt to let words out. She had her back pressed to the wall flat for her tense body had lost all sense of control as she felt him bring his face closer to hers little by little; the warmth his body gave out being the only thing she could feel around her own. For seconds that was all she could do – freeze in place and let him have his way with her until she mumbled something against his breath "I…"

By this sound, Karma's eyes widened and he stopped inching closer just in time before he could do anything as she continued in a whisper-like tone "I knew it…"

He distanced himself from her face subtly to have a look at her and saw how her eyes stared up at him with a bright glow – as if she had remained unfazed and had no traces of terror in them as she beamed heartily "As I thought, I can never be scared of Karma-kun anymore." It was a genuine set of words – one of which that would've brought his heart fluttering again only this nice view of his had been ruined when he was hit hard with the bat of reality after he had realized what he had just done.

After smiling at her sarcastically for a few seconds, he let his face fall to her shoulder – embarrassment taking over completely _again_ because of her "Haaa…" he exhaled against the fabric of her clothing to calm himself and his boggled mind that piled up just as fast as his pounding heart. If anyone had seen him – even if it were a carbon copy of himself – he was sure that he'd burst out laughing and never let this (unconscious it may be) action of his stop haunting him for the rest of his lifetime (thank the havens only Manami was here with him; and she was dense as a brick wall).

"E-e-e-eh? K-Karma-kun?" this gesture had caused the girl to come to another nervous state and let her feel another tickle on her skin when he laughed against her shoulder in his attempt to conceal how his face basically took on the color of his hair.

"Are you an idiot?" something about his tone made him similar to how someone would sound when they'd lost all hope for a person since it sounded like a despairing remark – something like a whine, even. If she wasn't even able to react violently to this, what more if it were someone else? What if some other bastard out there just thought it'd be fine to do what he just did to her and maybe go even farther than that? Now that he had that thought in mind after this experience, he had become all the more wary of leaving her alone now.

"H-Heh? S-Sorry…?" she managed to stutter out though still in a nervous state – but she didn't move herself away from him.

"As I thought, Manami is one of a kind." He managed to say – the idiotic grin nor red never leaving his face; but thankfully his defensive maneuvers told him to just stay there, where he was, until such were to pass. But he didn't lie about that though; she was the only one who had ever told him that and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to take it, really. But he did know that for once someone was brave enough to tell him that she's not scared of him with utmost honesty and at the same time show a genuine care for him.

On the other hand, Manami couldn't control her own heart's rhythm for it had just quickened its tempo just by him saying her name and the things he was doing right now – just like how she was nowhere near controlling the red that spread through her own cheeks. "H-Hm? What do you mean?" this let itself out at a higher pitch due to the state she was in at the moment.

And he laughed again "Nothing. Nothing at all~"

No it was not nothing – he wanted to bang his head on the nearest wall several times just to forget about it all but fought the urge to do so for the sake of his brain and image as a person (he'll probably do it when he's alone). He nearly did something to her that he'd regret every day for the remaining days of his life, after all.

And even then, Manami couldn't understand the overwhelming feelings that took over. And the very thought of those only made her flush deeper.

* * *

It was another Tuesday of working in the gym with another agenda to accomplish for the nearing event that had everyone in the school fired up.

Although this was the venue a certain club had reserved for themselves, only Manami and her trusted Student Council Vice President had it occupied for the sake of costume fitting while the rest of them worked with what they could in the field right outside waiting for their turn. Of course so they remained productive even if everything was reaching the point of over-preparation, their two closest faculty members kept them up to their game – after a few complaints and controversies though (which were ceased when they promised to treat them to food later like usual).

Mai studied the shorter girl from all sides as she fit her extravagant costume for the 3rd time that month – and each time she tried it on, it only made her look more and more alluring even if she wasn't by the light of the window like right now. The theme was of course, a horrific shrine, so they had to give her an exquisite goddess figure and the results were marvelous for she and Yuzuki had taken into consideration both the theme and what would suit her most. The way the golden headpiece had some sort of harmonization to her raven hair and round-ish face with its small sparkles brought about by the tiny jewels they had put together with some detail – but the headpiece wasn't the only thing eye-catching for it was the fabric and the design of her clothes in and of itself. It was the traditional Shinto goddess get-up that had many similarities to a kimono; the obi around her waist was a deep red lined with a golden obijime that formed a cross to the left-most side. Underneath the V neck was another layer of dark blue fabric that curved over her collarbones lined with golden piping – speaking of layers, even her baggy sleeves had about three layers to them of different dark colors that went well with the main nocturne violet tone of her outfit that was long enough to caress the glossy floors of the gym. And everything from the waist down was another set of covers starting from the red underdress that had ruffled ends that were topped on with the rest of the dark violet skirt that only took up enough for the red cloth to be seen up in front in between the fabrics. But all in all, it was a collection of an elegant traditional outfit put together that harbored a nice touch of simplicity that brought out her figure but at the same time it had a sense of glamour to it that gave out the 'superior' vibe they all wanted her to bring out during the first day of practice.

(I'm jackshit at writing about clothing)

"Okay, turn to the side." The brunette instructed her politely just so she could have her final reviews on the costume and for her to report to Yuzuki if she needed to. She had been of great use to this part of their plan due to the experience she had over clothing and fashion design – not to mention when she told the otaku she had connections to many tailoring shops especially ones near school, the girl had practically glomped her and gave her a million thanks; eventually, she became her assistant with this job albeit her many other responsibilities – but like always, she didn't mind.

Manami nodded and did as she was told – letting her left side come to view by raising her arms as well like all the other times. However, once she had, her eyes caught sight of her friends working outside; and that's when she lost herself in her thoughts again.

"Hm…I think it's fine." There was a bit of uncertainness in the voice of her senior as she rubbed her chin with the side of her finger in the midst of her contemplation until her face lit up at an idea with the snap of her fingers "Ah! I think I've got something better to add!"

The older girl took a pen and small spiral notebook from her blazer pocket and began to write down her new opinion – all the while, failing to notice that the one she was holding a fitting for had her focus elsewhere as she rambled on "I guess I'll have to tell Fuwa-san about it and return it to the tailor to add that finishing touch." She ripped the paper off swiftly but with care before she folded it into her pocket along with her pen "Is that oka—Hm?" only when she turned to face her again did she suspect that something was up with her – especially by the distance she saw in her half-lidded eyes as they directed themselves out to the bright, sunlit field out the window.

Stepping a bit closer to follow where her gaze faced, she was only mildly surprised to see that it landed upon the overfamiliar scarlet-haired character of her age group – whom currently was having yet another feud with another red-haired individual who was much older and had a darker shade to her own red hair; in other words, the school nurse was losing in her controversy against a cheeky teenage boy.

After she blinked with curiosity, she blurted out her thoughts from behind the braided girl "Did anything happen with Akabane-kun?"

"Wha—E-Eh?!" It appears Manami had not noticed her senpai standing there for it was as if her entire body went into an electrical shock that had her jolt backwards and trip on her long costume – resultantly, she bumped into the wall and fell on her bottom with an 'oompf!'; causing the brunette to flinch a tad at the land of her body to the floor.

Mai had a feeling that such a reaction was not just because she was startled, but also because her suspicion was right – and it was only proven more when she perceived how she tucked her knees in that hid the lower half of her troubled expression. It wasn't as if she needed to see the rest of her face; the upset look in her lavender orbs was enough to tell the sophomore that she was in a bothered state, and all reasons had something to do with the infamous sadist of the freshmen level. Now that she knew she was right and saw how the introverted girl needed someone to console this to, compassion took over and she took a space next to her resembling the same position as she turned her head to the ceiling. Mai didn't say anything though – she only presented her with a silence so the eyeglasses-ed girl may choose to tell her or not, but somehow assure her that she'd listen to whatever she wanted to say next.

Manami didn't need to think much before she opened up – she had developed a great trust in this girl due to all the admiration, and found no harm at all to express her feelings to her since she had experience with her advice-giving skills once before; and they had treated her with great help.

"I…I don't know…" she started – voice soft and unsure; exactly the way she talked to her Chemistry teacher the one time she had felt this way before. Mai didn't need to look at her to sense how she had just tucked her knees in closer out of an innocent cluelessness that one would be able to compare to a child with. With a bit of difficulty in breathing properly due to the heavy beats of her heart, her body had hugged itself to the extent that it made her body shrink in place before she mustered up enough courage to speak again; though her tone remained irresolute and in desperate need for guidance as she let her eyes move to the opposite side of the brunette "Uhm…for some reason I've always seen him as someone very far away from me…"

As she conveyed these aloud, images that were of different times popped back up in her head – for instance, the time he first set foot on the grasses of 3-E's campus and all the other events wherein he outsmarted people and led the class like a natural-born leader when the situation called for it.

"Even back in middle school when we met he felt far away…even though we always hang out and are near each other all the time, I always knew that he was way ahead of me in so many ways…because well…Karma-kun is…" she shut her eyes tightly and stressed on the next words to let her point get across "really _really_ talented. I can't even begin to come close. And also because…he feels even more far away because it's like at the same time he has his own world…he sees things in his own way and pays attention to the things he wants to do…" she had calmed down a tad and relaxed her shoulders a bit by this point "I don't really know anything about what Karma-kun has gone through…or anything other than what he shows me. But I really want to know…I want to know him even if it's just a little…" there was an impression of longing in her eyes when Mai faced her again – she took it that this girl actually wished for this judging from that expression and how her fingers now curled around the smooth, indigo-like fabric of her costume.

"And that's what's bothering you?"

Manami shook her head at the inquiry "I don't understand why but…when he suddenly called me by my first time…he suddenly felt…closer. So close I wasn't even prepared for it" And yet again, she felt a tension course through her body and let heat rise to her cheeks after a small fidget at the memory of the first time he called her by name "I'm not sure why, but something seemed to change between us. And then at the time my heart…pounded really fast." Unknowingly, she let her hand rise to her now pounding chest again in an attempt to ease it.

"It's never been that way when he called me by my last name…now whenever he says it…I'm reminded of the same feeling again – the feeling that he suddenly got so close I wasn't able to get ready for it; that I wasn't able to do it first….it was all so sudden…even now my heart won't stop beating. Is it because I'm not used to it…? But even if other people call me that…I really don't understand myself…" the poor girl really was bad at dealing with fussy feelings and emotional, sensible words – even after all this time, she still considers technical problems easier to deal with and would choose to solve them instead of these complicated emotions if she were given a choice.

Bright blue eyes widened at this – so Okuda-san really was clueless about these things; whereas she was able to understand them well enough to have an idea of what she's feeling. Thinking about what she could say without causing a wreck or any more misunderstandings, she contemplated on this for a bit.

And then she thought back on that one summer day…

_'Senpai…when I think about it, you tend to give good advice.'_

A smile gracing her features, Mai stared back up at the open ceiling "…I don't know either."

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Manami finally rose her head to stare at her senior with question – she never gave an answer like that before; it was almost like she knew what to say almost all the time, really. But now…

"Nope. I don't get it either." Her tone was bubbly again – almost as if she were proud of stating that as she shook her head to emphasize her point. "So you can't come to me until you understand it yourself, I guess."

"My…self?" she tilted her head – causing her braids to ruffle a bit.

"Mhm. You can't figure it out from someone who also doesn't know. All you can do…" after the mock lecture-like tone, she let a warm smile come to view when she at last faced the shorter girl properly "Is wait for your own feelings to become clear to you. That way, it'll be less confusing, right?"

Manami had to blink a few times before she settled with that response and giggled – all worries eased "I guess there are still lots of things even Mai-senpai doesn't know about then…"

And the pale-brown haired girl's expression softened with meaningfulness as she rotated her head back to the spacious ceiling.

"Uh-huh…there are lots and lots of things…"

* * *

**NOT MUCH TO SAY HERE BECAUSE I JUST GOT CAUGHT BY A PARENT SO I'LL MAKE IT VERY VERY BRIEF**

**Hope you found enjoyment in this chapter and stay tuned for the continuation of it! **

**IF THERE'S OOC TELL ME**

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**WITH ALL LOVE IN THE UNIVERSE**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	19. Chapter 19

**YAY~! I FINALLY POSTED! By the way since I'm in another hurry I'll make this quite brief because it's 4:30 am and I'll warn you now: MY SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW SO EXPECT LATER UPDATES AND A HIATUS HERE AND THERE! (But until the point in the story where I had my sights set on putting it on hiatus, I will continue writing as much as I can so rest easy)**

**OKAY! FINALLY THE OFFICIAL FIRST CHAPTER IS OUT AND COMPLETE! I hope you enjoy this one! And I hope the wait wasn't too long! **

**I'll make this quick now and answer to your reviews.**

**Btw, I feel like there's lots of OOCness in this chapter so if ever there is any, I'M VERY VERY SORRY!**

**OKay let's reply~:**

**kawaiichoconeko: HELLO AGAIN~ And lol wait that review made me lol XD Thank you for your kind words! And of course for leaving your usual review~ Can't wait to see more of your ABC's!**

**CrissNyan: Thanks~! Love you too 3**

**Title Unwanted: Thank you for the review and I appreciate it very much when you point out those things you liked! LOL RIO XDD And I'm 15 bro. If you're too young to die what am I lol XD I hope you like this update!**

**Quilla The Silent: Oh! Hope you're doing well there! And it's fine~ I understand! Glad you loved the chapter anyway! **

**animeandmangafangirl: Glad you liked those parts and I appreciate you for pointing them out in the first place TTwTT And yes she did get scared by that but I'm sure she used 'anymore' in the sentence that justifies that~ ^w^**

**mspotatoes: XDD Happy to hear you enjoyed that part! (BECAUSE I DID TOO LOL)**

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**OKay let's get some shuteye folks~**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING YOU TWATS**

* * *

**Chapter 19: What You Are to Me (Part 1.5: The Best)**

The evening crickets filled the quiet, empty campus of the Kimii High School Building A – the same building where an old, wooden clubroom was as lively as ever even with the late hour at the end of a weekday. Though the stars were twinkling up above the roofs of the town and the academy was nearly as empty as an abandoned church, all seven students inside this aged room were up and about with their plans for their biggest project as a group yet. It wasn't as if they weren't permitted to stay late – now that the festival was coming up, there were clubs that were in need of overtime stays at the school to get some jobs done; all they had to do was notify their guardians and have a teacher get permission for them and take charge (the very last one was not followed and they only forced their chemistry teacher to do it).

Combat Club's usually disorganized clubroom was, for once, quite arranged accordingly – the traditional Japanese table had returned to its original station in the middle of the room underneath a round lamp bright enough to not leave any dark corner near any of the four walls surrounding them. Surrounding this table were all seven former-assassins settled down at whatever position they found comfortable – although one of which, had her form towering above everyone else' for she had been the only one standing up and acting as spokesperson (again; but they just let her have it since their real supposed spokesperson was too lazy to).

Rio had a hand to her hip as she cleared her throat – blue eyes fixed onto the braided girl whom sat alone on the one side of the table directly in front of her "Okay, you got better in a nick of time and I do believe we are more than ready."

Yuzuki joined in from her same side of the table where her spiky-haired classmate sat himself next to her – her elbow putting itself on top of the wood before she let her chin rest on her palm; pinkish eyes were bright with enthusiasm like they always were whenever she was in a good mood "But we have a day left for some polishing. If there's anything amiss – which I doubt," she had a smug look on her face when she cocked her head to the side and emphasized these three words proudly "We can fix it by that time. Because firstly…"

To none of her expectations for this meeting, all six pairs of eyes had landed to where the shortest member of the group was with seriousness not feigning in their expressions. Clearly taken aback by these intimidating looks by the audible gulp she made, Manami felt her mind rapidly being filled with panicked thoughts that piled up one after the other which surprisingly didn't give her a headache. She had started to suspect that maybe she hadn't gotten better over the week and was about to get another scolding; that or it would be another throw of comments to her performance lately even though she was sure she was no longer feeling so nervous. With these in mind, she could feel her entire body become agitated for not one of them had spoken for the past few seconds they were just staring at her – though it had only been about three, it felt like several for she hadn't even realized she had lowered her head.

_Wait…'firstly'?_

_POP!_

The abrupt, ear splitting sound had instinctively had her raise her head in a sharp movement – the moment she did, her glasses reflected upon the streams of colors and other colorful papers that danced across the air against the light of the lamp. Before she could even notice how Sugino had risen from his seat with a confetti popper, all six of them exclaimed in chorus.

"Happy Birthday!"

As applause broke through the room, purple eyes could only remain wide due to their owner's utterly stunned reaction to all of this. All her mouth could mutter out was a soft "H…huh?"

_'T-Today is…?' _With the steady turn of her head that hardly made it look like she moved an inch, her still dumbstruck orbs traveled to the calendar right behind their door reading November 7th.

"We knew you'd focus on practice so much that you'd forget it was today." Rio was the first one to speak after applause had calmed down as she grinned down at the celebrant's dumbfounded form cheerfully "So we decided to put something together for all of your hard work, and of course, because it's your special day!" she sat back down along with Sugino to be in level with everyone else in the table.

Even with all the smiling faces directed at her, Manami's initial expression to all of this had not since wavered – too overwhelmed by a series of emotions that had prevented her from being able to say or do anything in response. Noticing this reaction, those at the table smiled for they had expected it from her; they were quite aware that if they were to slam it in her face all so suddenly she'd need a lot of time to come to her senses. Karma, a little amused at this, set both of his elbows on the table to rest his chin on his palms to watch how things would unfold with a sincere smile from his spot diagonally next to her on the side of the table he shared with Sugino.

What most at the table did not really expect was…

_Drip_

Once that stream of water had left one of her glossy eyes, the shaking in her shoulders was not hard to miss as she let her head face her shaky hands atop of her school uniform's skirt. She left them with the view of her dark bangs hiding half of her face with only the glint of her glasses visible behind her hair. And for moments, she only wept silently – refusing to make a sound as her shoulders nearly came up by her ears.

_ 'It's just what friends do.'_

_'What part of those faces looks disappointed? Don't think they'd given up on you.'_

_ 'You will pull it off.'_

_'I'm sure you'll leave a big mark on everyone's hearts…and that includes us.'_

_'We'll be here to pick you up.'_

Even after weeks of hard training and working themselves to the bone to the point they'd had to collapse altogether at one point, they had taken enough of their time to prepare a day for her – to even stay late at night just to celebrate this day she had carelessly overlooked with her. And as her tears only piled up and drenched parts of her skirt, the surprise she had struck them with was short-lived for in no time at all they were smiling at her again.

"C'mon, don't cry~" Rio attempted to comfort her with a playful yet supportive tone as she mimicked Yuzuki's posture with the resting of her cheek upon her fist. By this, they were all fully aware of the fact that she was never used to having people so much as arrange something for her or maybe even do anything like this for her. Because she was so unaccustomed to these kinds of things, it was never normal for her to celebrate her birthday this way.

Finally making a move to use her sleeves to try to dry her face (and failed) – though she still didn't raise her head, a brittle voice came from her struggle to keep from sobbing too much as she now let both of her hands keep her tears from staining the floor too much "S-Sorry…it's just that…even though everybody was so busy…and there were more important things to do…even when I've failed so many times…you all took the time to prepare this for me…" between her sobs, she was able to make this out as clearly as she could for the rest in the room whom exchanged another batch of knowing smiles at each other – of course she'd think this way.

"Mana—"

"Who…" Just before Yuzuki could try speaking to her, Manami slowly lifted her head up and presented them with a tearful face accompanied with a beam that was downright nothing short of sincere joy "Who wouldn't be…overwhelmed by happiness?"

Somehow having the sobs calm down a little after that, the raven-haired girl proceeded to clean her wet face with the back of her hands – and at the same time, her group of friends all shared the same feeling of satisfaction as they softened their expressions at that; they expected something more on the lines of 'You shouldn't have' the whatnot. They were glad she didn't and answered them differently – Yuzuki would've slapped her had it come to that.

After another exchange of looks, Rio chimed in again "It doesn't just end there, you know."

"H-hm?" she opened one shiny eye for the rubber was being rubbed when the statement came to her ears.

"Why, what are we going to do with all these gifts if we ended it there?" the golden-haired girl spread her arms a tad as if she were presenting something with a keen grin.

"Th-There are gifts too?!" the exclamation wasn't so loud – but it had every ounce of concern and disbelief to it.

"Of _course_!" Rio reacted to this in quite the exaggerated manner; like it was the most obvious thing in the world as she reached for something in her pocket "What's a birthday without gifts? And besides…" bring her hand out of her blazer's pocket, Manami was able to see a small plastic containment and only watch as her friend's eyes gave out a tender emotion that went with her caring smile while she set her gift down in front of her.

"Ri-Rio-chan…this is…" by the widening of her eyes again, the stray tears that were left on the sides had trickled down her cheeks. It was a bracelet with a spearmint color that reminded her of that dress she really liked, and the same dress this blond friend of hers had come to grow fond of as well – but the real message that she was able to see with this present was how the girl had thought of giving such a feminine accessory to her knowing she had a great lack of such; it was as if she was telling her: _'Go become a fine woman.'_.

"You deserve more than this, you know." Yuzuki had broken her away from her engrossed state before she could end up getting too caught up in the moment by setting down her own gift in front of her – just next to the space where Rio put hers.

"Yuzuki-chan…" she muttered out while she turned her gaze to her affectionate pink eyes. Once more, Manami was struck with another pang of emotions – more so when she took into account that it was a shounen manga.

"It's the one I told you about before in the lab, remember? I'm giving it to you so you could somehow find enjoyment in it." Her voice was friendly and warm – and utterly genuine, at that.

She knew far too well how much she cherished her collections; and from the looks of it, it was a mere hand-me-down that was likely to have come from her stash. "Th-That's—But to give something you hold so dear away—"

"It's all yours." Yuzuki raised her eyebrow and leaned forward on the table with her arms crossed atop it "I said it, right? You deserve more than this."

Just as Manami was about to feel more warmth spread across her chest and prod more tears out from her friend's kind and gentle tone, Sugino seized his chance to set another book on the table "Yep. You've done a really good job this year, Okuda."

It wasn't at all what she had predicted to come from him – or anyone else in the room, really. Right in front of her already blessed enough eyes was a book not about science, but of something she remembered getting interested in recently; art. Although she wasn't good at it at all, she had once voiced out her sudden interest to it after he and Yuzuki had put up their Korosensei poster out their door. Flabbergasted as to what enthused him to get her this, she turned her focus on the boy's ever-lively face.

"I saw it when you were batting. Before, you wouldn't have been able to hit any of those pitches – but then your injury from back at spring gave you a powerful arm strength and endurance suddenly." He gave her a wink and a thumbs-up with a supportive voice.

"If you were able to overcome that kind of pain and turn it into your new strength, I think that'd suit you just fine."

Manami couldn't even begin to describe how overjoyed she felt with the depth in the gift he gave her. Out of everyone in the group, she had to admit that she was probably the least closest to him. And for the spiky-haired boy to put this much thought into her gift, and at the same time give her an opportunity to teach herself something, she wasn't able to stop the feeling that she could do nothing to compensate for this act – for anything she could have done at the time would be considered ungrateful in her eyes; she barely knew him and yet he was able to come up with this much for her.

She wasn't even able to get a chance to respond to this for to her right where the two snipers were, Rinka's rare, kind voice had reached her ears. "This is the least we can do for everything you've accomplished this year."

In both of their behalf, Chiba lay a courage-gathering Omamori (good luck charm) in front of her that they had most likely had gone through the trouble of getting for her by searching through many stores – Manami knew full well that there weren't a lot of stores nearby that sold these kinds of merchandise. And with another moment of staring at the couple with a quivering mouth and drops of water threatening to come out again, she understood their message for the sincere smiles on their faces had their feelings written all over it. No words were exchanged, but both snipers didn't need to tell her that they were still thankful for the contribution she had put into their little feud back before the summer break ended; and with the gift they had given her in this beautiful evening, it was as if they were telling her to continue being courageous – to reach out and make a difference and at last…

Leave an impact – like they had both told her on the days she was alone with each.

One by one, she let her misty eyes travel from each of the gifts on the table – all of which had different meaning and had been poured with the genuine care her friends had for her. With an overflowing gush of gratitude that would have crushed a dam, she faced her dear friends again; this time a smile amidst her wet face that shined against the bright light of the clubroom.

"Manami." Karma had at last let his voice join into the merry gathering. His silence had been quite the oddity to the other club members, resultantly all eyes were on him now for they had expected him to have at least spoken a few times during all of this.

A moment later, a plain, white box of a rather significant size had taken up most of the space on Manami's left side of the table after it had been set there gently. She blinked once before moving her head respectfully to meet her gaze with none other than the one who had called her by name – and the one she still considers she owed the most. Her eyes widened one more time at this; not just because of the extra-large gift that must've been a great effort, or the more emotions that added up to her chest to the point that it throbbed from happiness, but the smile he gave her then was far from how he usually did so with most; and it wasn't the first time she'd seen it, but it was one of those rare occasions when it did.

Taking his silence and the nod of his head as a gesture for her to open the box, she reached for it gently – like a priceless treasure that could break just by touching it. With steady hands, she lifted the lid up with care and immediately her expression lit up as the color of a gentle gold reflected on her glasses.

Another smile – even wider this time – graced her features; although now, she couldn't have controlled it; for what she found inside that box was the one thing she liked that she had never told anyone but him.

Within the white, light box, lay an adorable plush toy of Nagoya's famous Shachihoko.

"K…Karma-kun…you…" she carefully lifted the stuffed toy from the box and had a look of its adorableness; it was just about the size of her lap where she put it. It was all over her face and how she said this what she was thinking about. Though overwhelmed by all of these great things happening to her within short time intervals, she had also formed a sense of remorse in the pit of her stomach. Where else could he have gotten this? This must've been rare to look for in Tokyo so he must have gone to some extents to buy get it for her – and even after all this time, he had remembered something so small about her. Saying Okuda Manami was touched would be the biggest understatement of the century that night; she couldn't even begin to express how she felt at the time through words nor actions.

"Don't think you're undeserving. You've done everything you can this year to get this far, right? Everyone in here knows how much you worked hard." Karma was leaned back on his arms lazily as he took delight in watching her gratified expression – this was, albeit only a little, evident on his face with the way his eyes and smile gave out a warmth that had remained as he spoke; and at the same time, he thought back on the earlier days he spent with her since his high school life started. And after comparing how she was back then, and the current her now – he wasn't able to stop feeling a little proud of her and partly himself for this result as his expression softened.

"So…" as if this were rehearsed, the instant he fixed his lax position by sitting up properly, all had their eyes on her again; though this time, the smiles they kept on when they gave her gifts had not left since then as they spoke in chorus-

"Congratulations."

Another silence came just so she could relish in this moment and let more of her emotions speak through streams of water that traveled down nearly endlessly after that. Despite the likely swelling in her crying face at the moment, she was still able to display them with a tender, loving face that brimmed with nothing but bliss. She lowered her head to the number of gifts out in front of her – eyes not feigning to give out every ounce of gratitude she felt at the time. Eyes falling onto the precious tiger-carp on her lap, her never-wavering smile only stretched wider while she let her cheek rest on the soft, plush material. A gentle but expressive laughter came from her as she hugged the toy closer to her; seeing this brought the rest of them delight – especially to the one that gave it to her – that was clear in their affectionate smiles.

"For someone like me…to be given such happiness…" Manami started; her voice soft and filled with earnestness "I can't imagine how terrible I would become if I let you all treat me this way too much…"

"You better not be saying things like 'someone like me'. I'll pull your braids off."

The familiar yet unexpected voice had led to everyone's attention being transferred to the door where it came from. And it was just as each of them thought – there by the door stood the school nurse and the birthday celebrant's guardian with a large box in hand. Although all in the room were caught by surprise, none were able to match how shocked the braided girl was just by seeing her there.

"I-Inari-nee…why are you…" Manami was very much aware that by this time of night she was supposed to be attending to another one of her jobs – and to see her there would only mean…

Rio smirked when she took notice of her friend's reaction to the new arrival "Why wouldn't she be here? She's the one that prepared this for you in the first place." She winked at her slyly and presented her with a toothy grin.

"Yep. If Inari-sensei hadn't told us your birthday was today then I'm sure none of us would've known." Yuzuki followed this with an appreciative expression as she nodded.

And for the umpteenth time that night, lavender eyes grew wide from another act of generousness just for her – well, she saw it was generousness, while the rest saw it entirely differently.

"Yep, that's right. And because I planned this out for you, I'm also in charge of feeding everyone in here." She somehow deadpanned at that – most especially when she recalled how it had ended up that way with the rock paper scissors game she had with another redhead in the room; but all in all, she didn't mind.

As her caretaker stepped inside the room, Manami studied the box she brought with her; inscribed upon it was a logo from some bakery she had familiarized herself with for she would pass by it from time to time if she were to visit the woman at work. It wasn't just any bakery however, it was the one she had set her sights on for some time now; but because it was quite the pricey diner, she had not even set foot inside of it.

Inari let the box take up the entire center portion of the table and looked down at the child she raised with a soft expression not one of the other members had ever seen from the school nurse from the time they'd known her – even Karma had to blink to check if he wasn't just seeing things. After about two seconds of gazing at the girl, Inari smiled and lifted the lid open "Happy birthday."

Once again, a glimmer came to the bespectacled girl's orbs – one that had seemed to circle around just by how wondered she was by what was inside. "Ka…Karumeyaki?" – it was none other than her favorite food. Only, it wasn't just any other Karumeyaki that was usually found during a summer festival – it was an entire cake big enough for everyone in the room to consume; and that wasn't even the most part for this cake had its own kinks to it as well that could only be sold in that pricey fine dining place. And though she had always wanted to try it, Manami wasn't able to stop the sudden pang of guilt she felt as she stared back up at her

"Wh-Why would you buy something so expensive?"

"Because I had money." Inari put bluntly.

"Th-That's not what I meant!" the small-structured girl leaned forward a bit to address her deep concern. "Yo-You're always hard at work! And to spend this much for me even when there are othe—"

"Don't say that." Rinka quickly cut her off with that order before she could continue with her nonsensical guilt talk again; which of course surprised the shorter girl due to its abruptness as she shifted her attention back to them. The moment she did, she was greeted with serious expressions that wouldn't let pass such words to come out of her.

"E-Everyone…"

A snicker came from the one who towered above all of them before she put a hand to her waist and stared down at the girl "Manami, don't you know?" Inari extended a hand quite exaggeratingly to point at her with a commanding tone "To everyone in this room, your happiness is theirs today. You carry a big responsibility right now and that's to just enjoy this night. You're a part of something wonderful, you know that? So seize your happiness tonight; not just for your sake but for everyone else'."

After having another round of looking at each one of their beaming faces, Manami wiped her face completely and replied to this with a livelier tone and a beam of her own "O-Okay!"

Not too long after that satisfying ender, Rio smirked again and started with a playful taunt "Man, you never tell us what you want so it's been hard to choose a gift for you, you know that? It was _reeeaally _such a _drag_ trying to think of it." She teased with a mock expression of exhaustion just to agitate the girl – which happened either way.

"S-S-Sorry!" she yelped with obvious shame from how her shoulders jerked up at each stutter. A second later, her blond friend had given her a forehead flicking that caused her to flinch backwards in a cute manner "You know, it won't hurt to be selfish from time to time." She had to raise herself from her seat a little just to reach for her forehead

"What are you filling her head up with now, Nakamura?" Karma remarked wryly with a smug look on his face at his carefree position leaned back on his arms again – clearly all to tease her for that kind of lecture.

"You be quiet." Rio averted her gaze from him with an irked pout and the cross of her arms – so even after he'd been quiet for the most time he _still_ didn't take a day off from his mischief-making or simple teasing.

Meanwhile, Manami had her head around what she had just told her. "B-But…"

"C'mon, c'mon." a hand had been waved for her to dismiss the thought before another grin came to the cheeky blond's face as she sat back down "Just say 'thank you' and that'll be enough." She cocked her head to the side with another wink.

She had a point – not once had she even said thank you yet due to how overwhelmed she was; she had her mind all over how much they had done for her and couldn't even bring herself to express any of her feelings due to just how blessed she felt. And now that her mind's been cleared up along with her face, and that she had come up with a resolve to get these feelings of hers through to them – with a warmhearted smile and the nod of her head at the blond girl's words, the braided girl gently set her Shachihoko on top of the table and stood from her seat much to most of their surprise. Although this was a rather unexpected move, Karma on the other hand, had been hit with a strange sense of déjà vu at this as he blinked few times.

_'You can have Manaka.'_

A proud smirk gracing his face, he let his arms stretch to the back of his head and leaned back at the wall right behind him as he awaited the show he knew was about to come with the relaxed shut of his eyes. He could surely tell from everyone else' faces that this was probably only the second time she'd done this kind of bold move in front of them – the kind where she would gather up all of her emotions and express them in such ways that had always amazed the redhead. He'd had his fair share of this kind of thing with her; the late night telephone calls, the ways she would just gaze at him with a resolution in her eyes if she were determined to get something through to someone – all of that she had only been able to do in front of him by far. And now that he saw coming the kind of spell she was about to cast upon the rest of them, one could only be so amused by the quizzical expressions given by everyone but the two red-haired figures of the room whom only anticipated what was to come.

And as if his sadistic side saw this as something to take pleasure from too, he had almost caught himself thinking _'Let's see how you guys like it.'_ Just from how entertaining it was to look at their cluelessness having been there before.

As if it were rehearsed, Inari switched places with the small girl so that now the latter was standing by the door towering over their seated positions. Manami had her hands entangled behind her back as she locked gazes with each and every one of theirs with a bright smile and determined yet caring eyes. And to only add up to the rest of the club's bewilderment, her braids fell from her shoulder blades to the sides of her head due to the formal bow of her upper body; back straight and sure of itself as an even more surprising event came next.

"Thank you all very much. I could never be any more thankful to have spent this day with you all; you, the people who I hold dear to me, celebrating the day I was born. Likewise, I am overjoyed to have seen this day pass with each hour containing at least one of you in it." Her voice was solid and as formal as the bow she had just given them – this was the first time the other five had perceived such a sight from her; it was written all over their astonished faces. For one thing, she really sucked at speaking publicly or even with choosing the right words to say in a regular conversation. But now, right in front of them was something that had come from all of her struggles – not just from her intense practices for the cultural festival, but from everything else she had gone through; this was just the proof that she _had_ become much stronger since then.

She hadn't raised herself from her bowed position even when drops of water had flowed down once again and fell to the wooden ground that had become misty to her eyes even with the support of her spectacles. And the formalities had been ceased when she started to speak in a brittle voice amidst all the weeping again "Th-This is by far…the happiest I'd ever been. I-I'll be sure to treasure this day forever and ever…" by this time, if she had raised her head, she would've seen how everyone just stared up at her with enthralled faces and how Yuzuki had already joined in with the tear fest.

"I'm really…really…so happy I can't even let words describe it…" she lifted her head up and finally revealed to them a blissful beam and shiny eyes underneath misty glasses "I guess only my tears can." The beam had turned into one of sheepishness as she shrugged her shoulders. Slowly opening her eyes, she takes the time to move her gaze at each and every one of them starting from Sugino whom had his usual smiling face on, only now it seemed to be that he was looking at her with proud eyes before she turned to Rio who smiled up at her – simply stricken by her words just like Yuzuki was whose tears brimmed at the sides of her eyes. The stoic snipers had dropped their adult-like appearances and expressed how touched they were by the simple smiles on their faces that had meaningfulness into them. Then her eyes laid on Karma who only gazed back at her with a smile that didn't fall short on expressing that he was purely happy for her and was pleased with how this had played out – she was sure that if it were in a normal case, he would've remained indifferent like always; but the devilish boy whom was usually aloof to all else had given her such a look that made her feel a little proud of herself for once; he was the one she wanted to show her improvement to the most, after all. And then there was her beloved mother-like figure that only presented her with a smug expression with crossed arms – as if to tell her 'See? You can do it. It was that easy'; after all the years of life she had known, it was always this woman that believed in what she could do.

_I'm glad…it reached you…_

Manami took a deep breath and relieved her face of any tears with the sleeve of her blazer. With another second to think, and with the added beauty of the starlit sky just outside the window, she started again "If I could make a wish today then…" She took her hand and rested it on her chest in a yearning fashion as she closed her eyes; relishing in this thought and displaying her innocent desire for this wish "I want things to be this way all the time. It's an impossible dream, but if I can hope for anything…it would be to be this happy with all of you as much as we can. And maybe one day…the rest of Class E can share this same feeling I have…"

And with that, Yuzuki's tears released themselves from their hold at the sides of her eyes like an explosion – there was her friend again going at it again with her talent for making a slice-of-life manga scene; an otaku could only be so touched. That, and of course there were the word she had said in itself – and compared to the Okuda Manami of just months ago, this one had to be the best one yet. And yes, she can still improve.

Along with the helmet-headed brunette, Rinka found herself also tearing up at just how heartwarming those set of words were – to her slight embarrassment, the shabby haired boy next to her had taken her emotional state into account and laughed at her.

"What are you looking at?" she tried to sound sour, but it ended up becoming a tad bit brittle when it came out – only causing Chiba to find more amusement as he answered "Nothing. I just thought you looked cute." It was put bluntly, and with a smile on his face too in the shameless manner he just said that.

Being the tsundere girl she is, Rinka turned away the moment she felt her cheeks heat up – unaware that he already saw it. "I-If you want me to pull something for you on your day too then you could just ask; you don't need to flatter me." This attempted to come out with a dull tone, but it appears as though her embarrassment had taken quite the effect on her voice by making her stutter and rise in pitch from time to time.

With Chiba being _very_ used to this, all he could do after that was chuckle again "Sure, sure."

Unlike the other three, Rio and Sugino had only exchanged a nod for they had thought of the same thing – and that was the fact that this girl who was always so unsure of herself and lost, was at last beginning to bloom successfully; she had grown up a lot since then – and it appears as though these two shared the same views on her.

All the while, Karma and Inari were only able to share the same feelings of pride unknowingly. They had seen how she had grown from scratch, _especially_ the latter. And with the results she had just shown today, with the words she was able to put together and reach to them; not to mention she did not fail in giving them another show of her capabilities as a person – the teenage boy was just reminded again of why he had succumbed to his present feelings.

_'What do you know…in the end you still put us before you…'_ he thought to himself with a genuine smile (he had been doing that a lot around her lately) as he just admired what stood before her – chuckling to himself just by how much enjoyment he got from all that.

"And then…" her voice had started again and abrupt the small reactions; though no one minded. In fact, she was given the enthusiastic attention of her so-called 'audience'. Manami had her hands behind her back again as she was about to conclude this unintentional birthday speech "Lastly, I want everyone to know how amazing each one of you is. So…" raising a gentle fist to the air, she grinned one more time – this time out of steadfastness as she exclaimed

"Let's do our best in the Cultural Festival!"

And it was at that moment, everyone had been washed over with another flurry of emotions that couldn't even be described by any word out of the dictionary (all countries applied).

But once it had come to pass, the hype she had in her words had been passed on to the rest of them. She was successful in touching their hearts this night – so successful that everyone had somehow the same thoughts: That this was by far the best of Okuda Manami.

"And it's the same for us, okay?" Yuzuki was the first to assure her after she had somewhat recovered from her sobbing state with an aggressive nod of her head.

Rio nodded to this as well "We want everyone to know about just how amazing our clubmate is by seeing her take the stage and win her audience over like she did tonight."

"So, to repeat what you said…" Sugino followed through and exchanged a nod with the rest of the members inside this small yet merry room. And as if it were an unspoken agreement, all the teenagers got up to their feet and joined together to share one big high five underneath the light of the bright lamp as they all spoke in a chorus again.

"Let's do our best in the Cultural Festival!"

And the blissful night went on.

After a few more happy events, and the consumption of Karumeyaki cake, Inari had apparently brought with her an old Polaroid Camera and had them gather together for a commemoration photo. Once they were through with that, the whole group had found themselves beguiled by the photo for a few minutes – an old Polaroid camera it may be, but quality did not disappoint when it came to its instant printing technology.

"Oh! I think I just got a great idea!" Rio took the photo from Chiba's hands, but was careful not to damage it in any sort of way as she brought it towards their club's small refrigerator. She didn't even need to finish what she was about to do for them to get where she was going with this.

Thankfully, there were already some random magnets on the fridge that they decided to just put out of whim on regular, uneventful days. With that, their memory of today had been perfectly placed on the refrigerator as the club's first official memento. The photo had on it the smiling faces that could be used to describe what they felt after the events of today. With the birthday celebrant sitting in the middle of it behind the table of gifts and a Shachihoko in her hand, the two friends that were first to infiltrate her house sitting at each of her sides with relaxed poses of their own with the other female sniper knelt next to her on the left with her boyfriend-but-not standing next to her whereas on the right side of the girl who had just turned sixteen were the two other athletic boys in the clubroom standing in whatever position they felt like doing.

For another time that night, a moment of happiness was shared between a group of former assassins that never would've thought they'd go back to living this kind of mundane lifestyle and yet _still_ find themselves having a great time. This night may have played out like any other birthday celebration night someone else in the world may be having right now; but to these students – who have already seen things beyond their wildest imaginations – had found contentment with what they had by the end of the day. And a particular red-haired teen that had once thought there was nothing left for him at all had begun to reconsider things in a whole different way – and more so was he leaning onto this new consideration when the object that started it all spoke up from behind all of them.

"Today I had so much fun…" and the shachihoko in her hand was pulled closer to her as she savored this moment to her heart's content. Yet again, for who knows how many times that same day, she had been showered with their smiling faces.

_Really, the best…I could ever even dream of having…_

_…_

This happiness was abrupt by the impish voice of her one and only guardian leaning on the wall with her arms crossed.

"Hah? Who said you're the only one having fun today?"

"Hm?"

Inari smirked mischievously – all ill intent was present in her tone as she said "Everyone, now that it's Manami's birthday, why don't we commemorate a few of her past birthdays?"

Not a lot of them got it at first, but when the haunted expression on the braided girl's face had been evident enough to have an anxious aura come from her, things were clear as day (in the night) "W-w-w-w-wait! I-I-I-Inari-nee! They don't need to—"

"I'll have you know, that on her 6th birthday, she went to a mailman and asked him if Galileo Galilei sent her back a letter after she wrote him one about her feelings towards the laws of microscopy." She told them this as casually as she could; with a smile of mock innocence, even.

"AH!" Manami had to drop anything and everything in her hand after her upper body jolted backwards and her body went cold. Did she have to say _that_ one in front of all of them?

It didn't really help how the three other girls present in the room had simultaneously turned their attention to her and narrowed their eyes at her with some emotion she didn't understand – either it was suspicion or probably pity.

"Heh? You really did?" Yuzuki questioned rhetorically – somehow she looked creeped out and at the same time disappointed in her.

"What kind of childhood did you live?" now Rio's was obviously out of pity and disapproval – as the one that considered womanhood to matter in every female out there, she also had thoughts on how a girl should have lived her early childhood days. And not even Rinka helped with making Manami feel less mortified for all she said was-

"I feel kind of sad." With a blank expression, but with squinted eyes that expressed how unfortunate she saw this as (but deep down, she had been aroused by the mention of such humiliating secrets and fought that blush hard).

And the eyes of the bespectacled girl could only grow wider from the suddenness of the conversation turn. Even when they knew that this woman was just out to embarrass her, they didn't even do anything to stop it (so much for 'what friends are for'); that, and she had never been looked at that way in her entire life so this only made her even more confused "E-EH?! W-Wai—"

"Next, her 7th birthday came, and she came running to me with a dead frog in her hands." Inari seemed merciless tonight for she appeared to have lots more in store; the innocent smile from earlier had shifted completely into one of sadism "She said she accidentally dissected it while she tried to save it from choking and nearly cried her eyes out just by telling me to bring it back to life."

Compared to earlier, this woman's hype to embarrassing her co-resident was at a much higher level; the gap was so large that Chiba was beginning to think she really came her _just_ for the sole purpose of bringing her supposed 'child' to an abyss of degradation.

In memory of that said frog, instead of Manami screaming from shame like she did earlier, she even tried to argue back "D-Don't call Goiter-chan an 'it'!" – as if she respected its passing and actually did cherish the reptile so everyone _had _to acknowledge it by name. Concerned with how she viewed this, Karma couldn't help but butt in to point out a fact with the furrow of his eyebrows and a slight sweatdrop that came with a sarcastic smile "You were the one that murdered it." _'And who names a choking frog after a throat disease?'_ – Yep, there were still many instances where this person would reach a certain oddness that was beyond his own.

"Hah, you should've been there when I tried to convince her it was dead and beyond saving. She didn't even know that taking out its esophagus would kill it at the time." This came out nonchalantly from the school nurse – but the crooked smile that graced her face after that statement had brought a rather not so pleasant memory (a disgusting one, at that).

"Things just got gruesome…" Sugino couldn't help but comment with a wary smile as his mind had brought about the image of a little girl taking the esophagus of a helpless, choking reptile like it was no trouble – and that it was the most normal thing in the world. The disturbance he felt from such a thought had become evident judging by the grim shadow that loomed over his eyes along with some blue lines travelling down them.

"Okuda-san, I didn't know you were morbid as a child…" Chiba himself had to sweatdrop at this – and looking at the red-haired fellow who was suddenly with a pleased smirk and had his arms crossed when he hears this only had another drop of sweat go down "don't you think you look a little too proud?"

And finally, the moment Inari had been dying to laugh about with others since the day it happened to her had found its opportunity. With a bright glimmer in her eye that hinted mischief, she raised her finger "And then, we have Manami's _most embarrassing_ secret yet!"

Suddenly the whole room's attention directed itself to the woman that stood before all those seated around the table. And with that last statement coming from the thirty year old's mouth, Manami's frightful expression only darkened even more when she realized what it was she was pertaining to before she cried out with a desperate tone that would've had everyone's attention back had they not all (even Sugino and Yuzuki) been so intrigued by hearing the words 'most embarrassing'. "STOP!" Her hands went to the sides of her head in utter horror of what was to come. She should've known none of them would do anything to stop this – they were all assassins that lusted for blood last year, so of course a sadistic side was there.

"On her 9th birthday—"

"INARI-NEE!" out of impulse and a rush of adrenaline, the agitated, bespectacled chemist sprung to her feet and attempted to charge at her caretaker so as to cover her mouth before anything came out – only to completely fail at doing so when the tall woman stepped to the side and had her fall onto the sorry floor as Inari continued with a face similar to that of a wedding reception host when they share an embarrassing fact about the couple (only it was a single teenager this time)

"Manami declared her first love!" the maroon-crowned nurse raised her eyebrows cunningly as her narrow eyes gave out a malicious glint.

"HOH?!" Yuzuki and Rio both exclaimed as they too got up from their seats with an almost identical reaction with both fists curled as their eyes gleamed bright with curiosity and cheeks flushing a tad.

"AAAAHHH!" the poor girl on the floor could only scream and cover her face instinctively – _very_ much opposed to how the other females in the room reacted for they had suddenly been turned on (whereas Hayami Rinka stopped making an effort to hide whatever arousal she had – much to Chiba's disturbance)

Sugino then notices how his delinquent friend sitting next to him had also become very intrigued by this by the way he leaned in closer on the table and put his cheek to his palm. From the earlier other secrets disclosed, all he did was sit back and hum with amusement and even a nod of his head that lived up to his sadistic nature; but now he practically had his gaze fixed on the older woman with a kind of anticipation he couldn't quite comprehend.

"What's up with you?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"I-I-INARI-NEE!" Manami sprung to her feet again with a face redder than the hair of any of the red-haired ones inside the room as she took another attempt at stopping the woman from killing her with sheer embarrassment by trying to cover her mouth – which was dodged yet again and had the purple-eyed girl fall forward and roll for a bit before landing on the next corner of the room.

After she had gotten rid of the hindrance to her secret-disclosing (which was the owner of the secrets herself), the cheeky woman continued with an enthusiastic grin "To _this!_" what she held out in her hand was an outdated chemistry textbook that must've been rejected even by the secondhand shops due to its obvious age and how battered up it looked.

All of a sudden everyone was turned off and the hyped atmosphere was replaced with a dull and lifeless aura that had only become more thick with the disappointed frowns on _everyone's_ faces. It was like some HP bar that rose at a high level had depleted into sad, sorry, negative digits where they were.

Rio was the first to shoot Manami with narrowed eyes that were nothing short of absolute distaste as she pointed to the old college textbook (Antiquarian edition) "What is _that_?"

"N-NOTHING!" she squeaked out from behind her hands as she had practically pushed herself to the corner in a desperate attempt to get away from that place.

All the while, Inari had to stop herself from bursting into a large fit of laughter as she discussed this final secret which was evident from how her shoulders shook and how her lips quivered from holding it in too much "You should have seen her; She was spouting stuff out like," with a clear of her throat, she mimicked the braided girl almost as perfectly as Korosensei's head is round "'_You know, Antiquarian-san, you've been by my side the longest time. I only have one wish today, and it's that I'd want to become your wife one day if you'd let me' _was what she said!" not being able to hold it in anymore, she slapped her knee and nearly hacked on her own laughter.

"STOP!" It was as if her eyeballs had just become mere scribbles on the white spaces of her eyes all because of the mere look back at that horrifying memory. That being said, nothing else filled her distorted mind aside from dizziness that suddenly formed from the rush of blood to her face.

Most tried their best to suppress the strong urge to just laugh really _really_ loud and just point at her after hearing such – but such guffaws weren't held on to for too long because eventually most around the table released it and released it without mercy; it was hard to tell if they were even breathing anymore after they had started to point at her jeeringly.

With tears at the sides of her agitated eyes and slapping both hands to her red face, Manami had only further drowned into mortification to the point she felt like her soul was about to leave her for all eternity. If she could die any time, now would be the perfect time.

This had lasted for quite the long time – Sugino wasn't even making an effort at keeping himself subdued and just laughed to his heart's content along with (to most of their surprise) Chiba. Meanwhile, the girls were having an extra powerful laugh fest for Rio was on the brink of crying her eyes out and next to her, Yuzuki slammed her fist to the table several times and looked to be having difficulty in breathing already. Rinka, even with her furious blush, needed to use both of her hands and a bit of force to hold in what would become an embarrassing laughter as she too had begun to form tears by the sides of her eyes just by trying to stop it.

Inari wiped a tear from her eye after she had somehow recovered – voice still a little brittle from laughing too hard "Now then, where'd that book go—heh?"

Right on the side of the table where the only one who didn't mock her was, the old Antiquarian edition chemistry book had been drenched in juice and a lot of other sauces and that used to be the mess on the table as it lay there wide open and paper first to the furniture. Lifting her stare a tad, she was not the least bit surprised to see the innocent smiling face of the devilish red-haired boy with his hand on top of it. Suddenly aware that the attention of the room had focused on him, he pretended to be surprised but kept that obviously sarcastic grin on.

"Oh? Sorry~!" for a moment there, he actually looked surprised at his own action – but of course the rest knew better. "But it was really hard to tell. I mean, it looked so outdated I'd mistaken it for a substitute rug." It was all over his wicked grin just how not sorry he was – he just eliminated what he considered a threat and looked really proud of it.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Everyone's thoughts were put into words right then by the school nurse' blunt remark; their laughs had died out and were just replaced with expressions that said 'really?' and raised eyebrows.

"Oh well, now that it's trashed, guess we won't be needing it anymore." Karma picked the threat up by his thumb and forefinger like it was something that he was too disgusted to touch – or care about (which was undeniable) as he stood up from his lazed position and began to saunter away somewhere.

"Eh—"

"Now then, where'd I put those matches?" he put a hand on top of his eyes as if in search for something with an enthusiastic beam on his face.

Hearing that, Inari's fun ended "O-Oi! I could care less about what happens to that book but no flames in the school!" it was easy to tell that she was more worried about getting fired rather than the safety of her students when it came to this hazardous subject. It appears she was also very disturbed by the idea of her getting married to a chemistry book at the time – so disturbed that it took a lot of courage just for her to bring it there and embarrass her for fun's sake.

And the night went on with the two of them arguing for the umpteenth time and everyone just getting back to their own business like the usual.

Even if everything went downhill and Manami nearly died out of humiliation, she still considers them the best.

* * *

The evening befell upon them quietly, yet serenely. What was once a merry clubroom had now been enveloped in a tranquil quietude between two teenagers who had remained though the rest of them had gone their separate ways and were probably getting ready for bed this time around.

Due to the occurrence that the school nurse and the birthday celebrant's guardian claimed to have had something to take care of, a small girl with the love for science had been obliged to wait until she was finished albeit it being quite the late hour to even have anything left to do in the empty school grounds. Eventually, the redhead who was closest to her had volunteered to stay with her until the woman came back from whatever it is she said it was. Though late in the evening it may be, neither had minded each other's company nor the fact that they were staying at a school (no less), for it was also refreshing to have a respite after such happy (and not so happy for some) events.

For minutes now, the two engaged in their regular conversations – as usual, finding enjoyment in the presence of the other for they were accustomed to being alone together most of the time. The only things in the room present with them were the messes of food and other utensils on the table accompanied by the gifts the celebrant had received that day. Heck, the room was a clutter of materials in itself from the after-party state it was in; but if anyone cared to clean it, they would've done it by now.

"Earlier…you were kind of quiet." Manami addressed this observation with a slight bit of curiosity in her eyes – Shachihoko still rested in her lamp and in the comfort of her caring arms throughout the time since the conversation started; like she treated it much too precious to let go of so irresponsibly so it had to be with her at all times.

"Quiet?" Karma cocked his head to the side at the inquiry – as always, his position was as carefree as ever with the common way he would let his arms support his weight from the back of his form while he conversed with her.

The braided girl nodded her head in reply; and it didn't take too long for him to respond back to this with a teasing smirk "Well, you don't want me causing too much trouble whenever everyone is gathered, right? So I became a good boy today just for you. Now, is that so bad?" this came out like a joke as he raised his eyebrows at her playfully; but all in all it was the real reason he hadn't exactly done much mischief-making for the past few hours.

After blinking a few times in mild surprise, the girl only stifled a short giggle at this before she held the toy in her hand tighter; leaning onto the soft material with her cheek – which added to Karma's score list – as she had a soft expression while saying her next words "Karma-kun is…kind."

It came out of nowhere, but he didn't react much to it – although he did feel something go slightly off with his mood after she said that. A moment later, his smile faded as he let his mercury eyes shift to the side for a bit at the thought _'That's not true…'_ – he referred to the initial motives he had when he first decided to help this girl out; the selfish whims that had gotten him to reach out to her – all of that were still yet to diminish from his mind.

"This is…" when she started again with the same soft yet affectionate voice, he turned his view back to her only to find her still resting upon the gift he got her that night "…The happiest I've been in a very long time…" behind her spectacles, a pair of purple eyes that glinted with emotion was present. However, Karma did not fail to notice how not all of those emotions were of the positive type – especially when he found her gazing at the empty Karumeyaki box with an emotion he had a hunch he knew.

" 'Happiest', huh? If that's so, then what's up with that guilty look in your eye?" he mused with a smile and let his arms stretch to the back of his head as he let his stare transfer to the ceiling where the bright lamp was still on and let the room brim with light. Manami's half-lidded eyes only went down lower with the fade of her smile – as usual, he could read her easily.

"…I've been found out, huh…"

"I told you before, it's not hard to tell." He chuckled after the subtle tease and found some ease with the sheepish giggle she gave him in response – that would mean she was willing to tell him about it. Raising her head from the plush toy, she started another topic; this time her smile held a sense of regret just like her downcast eyes "I can't help but feel…upset for Inari-nee."

So she was still on about this – figures, she was the type of person that overthought about other people; more than anything, she was the type of person that had a great sense of reciprocity and always saw herself as someone that shouldn't really be paid mind to. It took a short moment for him to gather some words to counsel her with knowing all of that; once he had settled with something, his eyes did not leave the light of the room as he spoke with a casual tone "Everyone told you, right? Today was reserved for you so you could just rest easy and be glad about it. For everyone's sake." He made it a point to add that last sentence with a knowing smile – repeating the words of the one she fret about at the moment would probably do her some good.

Manami nodded – but her countenance had not changed one bit "I know…and I can't be anymore grateful for that but…"

_'Back when we were rivals…'_ lips stretching into a frown at the memory, with the additional resurfacing of the day she had gone to Hashimoto with the old man that called her Hanako and her caretaker telling her not to open the mysterious case, she blinked slowly to try to ease her uncertainties before turning her head to the side to face him "I've told you before how I didn't know a lot about my parents, right?"

And here they were again with that talk on the past Karma couldn't quite get his finger around. Somehow discussing this very mysterious part of her had honestly gotten his mood a little put off; it always reminded him how he knew next to nothing about her – but he let his silence to this make it a sign for her to continue and ensure her that he's listening.

"The truth is…there are more things I don't know about Inari-nee." Her regretful look had gradually shifted into a troubled one as she finished up the sentence.

Noticing how she was suddenly bothered, he let his head face her and set his arms back to his sides – suddenly intrigued "What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head – her braids ruffling from the movement as she moved her eyes downcast "I know next to nothing about Inari-nee." She paused just to blink slowly with some distraught as she looked back at some parts in her life "What happened before she ended up taking care of me…what she was to my parents…Because of that, I can't help but feel like she's always been hiding something from me – something really important…and connected to why she's living this way now."

With his mind lingering upon those words in some way to get his head around it, he found an oddity in her sentence " _'This way'_?"

"Mhm." Manami nodded again and lifted her head ever so slightly – but her eyes kept themselves distant in her explanation "Inari-nee lives on small jobs and lots of part-times even with her medical background. All of them are almost completely unrelated, but she's able to do them all without fail." A saddened smile graced her features as her shoulders slightly rose "I'm sure with a person that talented…she must've had a better life than the one she's living right now…" a finger started to play with the eyeball of her stuffed toy unknowingly. All the while, Karma was trying to put two and two together; trying to grasp things well and somehow understand this until he had been cut by her voice again.

"I don't know what happened, but I know deep down that it's connected to me somehow." His eyes didn't fail to perceive how the firm hold she had around her soft plushie went around it tightly – her eyebrows scrunched together mildly as if in deep search for an answer inside her own mind "I…want to know for some reason. I really want to know…then maybe I can support her in any way I can when I do."

Keeping silent and seeing this somewhat desperate state of hers regarding this topic, he could only feel as though something quite complicated happened and failed to find the right thing to say to her at the moment – naturally, the urge to know about it himself had risen; what exactly had gone on in this girl's life before all of this? And then he recalled…

_'If I were to tell you…It wouldn't make a difference.'_

Even with all the hints given to him by the glimpse he had of that case, the weird girl they met in Hashimoto, and all the other things he had witnessed that had come to a relation to this mystery of hers – not even with the smarts he had that towered head over heels above everyone could he even begin to guess the events of that time of her life nor make mere assumptions. Because of this, he had not said anything in reply – there was nothing he could do to console her with this anyway.

Manami then notices the awkward atmosphere she had just created once again from the same subject – her personal life from before. She wanted to mentally give herself a forehead flicking for doing it again and in front of the same person too. So to amend her mistake, she stuttered out and decided to change the conversation flow.

"L-Let's not talk about me for a while; I've been getting spoiled too much today. A-anyway, let's talk about you." Then a smile came to her face again – lavender eyes came back with their bright and innocent glow as she beamed up at the tall boy with eagerness.

"Even though it's your birthday?" Karma let his head tilt itself to the side and eye her curiously.

"It's alright. I'm curious about something anyway." She assured him – her regular tone of voice had also returned when the subject came to him now.

Sparing a few seconds to wonder about what it is that would've brought curiosity to her, he eventually showed her another smile to hear her out "Ask away~"

"How do you celebrate your birthday?" her eyes blinked up at him with innocent interest – he figured she would ask something like this and didn't need to think much about his answer for such a topic wasn't that big a deal to him.

"Mine? Well, people send me gifts and everything but I usually just stay at home." He relaxed himself again in his seat by leaning onto one arm for support this time as he answered this like it was nothing to him.

On the other hand, Manami had become puzzled to his response – stay at home? Considering he had a fair amount of friends anyway, she had expected him to at least have some sort of celebration though it may be small. "Eh? Why?"

"My birthday falls on Christmas, so of course everyone else would be celebrating that day with their families." He took his free hand to scratch the back of his head blithely before as he continued "I don't mind it though, saves me the trouble of having to prepare a bunch of things."

In a quizzical tone, she proceeded to address her questions to him with quite the confusion in her eyes "Then, what about your parents? Don't they come visit for Christmas? It's your birthday too so they should be celebrating with you, right?"

"I told you before, didn't I? My parents always travel around the world – they'd send me some games or a postcard of where they are on earth with 'wish you were here' or 'happy birthday' attached to it." All of this was stated in such a way that gave out he didn't really care – and that he didn't actually take a liking to this topic due to the deadpanned expression he had as he discussed this "Other than that, that's how I spend my day in a nutshell. Maybe I'd treat myself to some hot chocolate or any of the convenient Christmas bargains but that's that."

"You…" Although he was very indifferent to this, his conversation partner was another story. By the time he turned to her with question, he noticed how her fingers were gently curled around the stuffed animal – her eyes downcast and shoulders tensed up as she had a clear evidence of distraught judging by her expression as her voice shook a little in her next words.

"Do you…hate your family?"

He blinked a few times at this. She must've gotten that idea by the way he talked about them and from how he discussed a day he'd rather not pay so much mind on. Noticing how this had caught the girl in another negative state because she was most likely thinking about him, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head "Well, I can't exactly hate people who are never here. But for that same reason, neither can I actually bring myself to 'love' them." She wasn't sure if he was aware of it, but the look in his eyes just now as he said that last sentence had gotten her attention.

The emotion held in those glintless eyes was not something she could put her finger on so easily – but there was some kind of…brooding(?) to them that she couldn't quite pinpoint the reason to. But all she knew then was that seeing that come from him, she had come to a few understandings of his life now. And the questions she had asked herself numerous times before had been answered just by that simple observation.

_So that's why he's always been so distant…he's been left alone. He didn't have much to count on but himself for the most part of his life…That's why he's able to focus on becoming great and doing the things he wants…that's why he sees the world that way…_

_He wasn't left with a lot of things to care about._

With her thoughts finally being cleared up on this, Manami gazed at him with resolve and a genuine care – and though he was not looking back at this when she did, he had eventually turned his head to meet her eyes when he sensed them on him.

"Karma-kun…" her voice was low, but it was firm with the same amount of resolve she had in her shiny purple orbs hidden beneath her clean spectacles – and because of this occurrence, he had found himself unable to tear away and listen to what it was in her mind this time.

_I want to be inside your heart._

With a warm smile and the tender furrow of her brows, she tilted her head slightly – but kept her gaze locked with his.

"Let's celebrate your birthday together."

_If you have nothing much to care about…I'll care about you in hopes you'll do the same._

For another instance in the time they'd known each other, moments of silence had passed as both were only able to stare back at each other; they're own thoughts overwhelming them though such was not visible from their faces. Like always, Karma saw the loving look in her eyes that held the sincere yearning to be with him on that day. And because of this, his thoughts had gone around one fact – and it was that this girl, the one who had given him a reason to look forward to the future, was someone he didn't deserve one bit. His selfish and disrespectful personality that threw most people off, his tendency to disobey and get into heaps of trouble, and his bad habit of doing things his own way without much regard for others – she accepted it all and even cared for it. And for a person who cried her eyes out by the simple act of being greeted on the day she was born by people she loved to want to spend his own birthday with him – who saw things with aloofness, easily picked out what wasn't worth it, and someone that easily succumbed to some of his selfish whims to the point he nearly tainted her just the other day – all he could think of at the moment was-

_'I don't deserve you…'_ his nonchalant stare to her had just showed signs of that by the lowering of his eyelids – but of course she wasn't able to read that thought. But when such a conclusion came to mind, he was reminded of the resolve he had made thanks to the help of a senior and an old friend.

_'What do you consider precious?'_

_'What is it that keeps you going?'_

Finally displaying a smile, he didn't let his eyes tear away from the answer that was right in front of him.

_It's right here, and that's enough for me right now. So I'll just be happy about it._

"Sure." He at last gave his answer with a tender smile and an expression in his eyes he didn't give to anyone – recently, such a look had only been given to her. And with this response, her face lit up – absolutely overjoyed; in fact, much too overjoyed than he had expected for it was as if the gleam in her eyes had just quivered like she was near tears.

_Badump_

With that familiar sensation that boomed in her heart just now, Manami had suddenly become confused about this all over again. But once such a state had become clear on her face, Karma was just in time to turn his head to the door with another casual smile as he reverted back to his usual self "Now, seems the old hag's taking too long – I'll go check if she's on her way." With that being said, he proceeded to lift himself from his relaxed seat and headed to the door with his hands to his pockets.

"A-Ah, sure…" she managed to answer even with her heart still pounding against her chest for reasons that were still vague to her.

Thanks to the door already being open, Karma didn't need to do anything just to step out of the room – but the moment he did, a figure that leaned against the wall to his left had caught his eye.

It was none other than the so-called 'hag' he had just pertained to; but even with that comical remark, he had to take into account how this woman was not in the mood for any games by how her arms were crossed over her chest and a grim expression that told him she was there for quite some time now – listening to their conversation. And he had a gut feeling he knew exactly when she had arrived and refused to enter because of the conversation topic.

Not taking too long, he put on another smile as he faced the girl left in the room again "Manami, are you okay with being alone for a while?"

"Eh? Well, sure but…where are you going?"

"Just gonna check something out. I'll be back soon." He assured her with the same grin plastered on his face – successful at having her fail to notice it was all an act as he slid the door shut gently.

In the silence of the practically empty room, the bespectacled introvert was left to mutter out her thoughts.

"…I wonder what happened…"

* * *

The only resonations that could be made out at the time were the chirps of the late night crickets and the subtle hoots of the owls that rested upon the branches of the darkly-shaded trees of fall – for only a suspenseful silence ensued between two red-haired figures that stood still inside a school corridor that nearly took on the same dark as the night sky had it not been for the light that came from the small opened windows of the room the boy had just left.

For a while, nothing of note had occurred – neither even took the effort to face each other for Karma had not let his back leave the woman's sight. A single hand had been given the warmth of his pocket while the other lay lax on his side; albeit the casual posture he always had, the thoughts that flowed through his usually reserved mind did not come as leniently.

"You know well about what she talked about, correct?" he was nonchalant when saying this, but in every way serious for his mind had been set on finally getting some answers from her – after all, this had been going on for quite some time now.

Inari heaved a sigh, but was careful not to make too sudden of a movement on the door to alarm the girl left inside the room. "So it's come to this, huh…"

Taking a step to the side, his mercury orbs took in how the nurse subtly stared into the window that gave out a bright light quite evasively – just to have a glimpse of what the one inside was doing with a heavy emotion present on her gaze; one of which he couldn't quite comprehend.

"She's starting to notice…" she quietly lifted herself off of the door without fail; arms still crossed over her stomach when she eyed him sharply as if with a serious command that should not be disobeyed– which in some way slightly startled the teenager, and only more so when she said-

"I want you to help make sure she doesn't."

It didn't take too long before he got what she meant; once he did, he stepped forward again to directly face the much taller one "Then—"

"I'll tell you what happened. And when I do, you'll have to help me do whatever it takes to keep it from getting out."

* * *

**Wahahaha I hope I did well...I hope 8"3  
**

**I'll be sure to try my best and update the soonest I can since now that school's started. And JUST as we got to one of my favorite arcs.**

**Though that being said, I'd VERY much appreciate it if you were to leave a review! I need to keep myself motivated and keep myself shipping after all! And I'd like to finish this story to the point where I got it figured out until we get to the next part of it which will be where I put hiatus on (Don't fret! I'll update as soon as I can! I JUST HOPE I STILL SHIP IT AS HARD)**

**OKAY! So, your thoughts? Yeah just leave it in a review for love, support and my moral needs for motivation! **

**Sorry I can't say much again this time but NEXT CHAPTER WE HAVE MANAMI'S MYSTERIOUS PAST SO YAY~ (Which the beginning part I've already written ;D so I'll have that up pretty soon I guess)**

**Again, thank you for reading and WARN ME FOR OOCNESS BECAUSE I SWEAR I THINK THIS CHAPTER IS FULL OF IT X""D**

**Love, **

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	20. Chapter 20

**I HAVE FINALLY WRITTEN ANOTHER CHAPTER! *SOBS BECAUSE HAPPINESS* YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE BEEN YEARNING FOR AN OUTLET FOR ALL OF MY STRESS AND FINALLY. LY I HAVE WRITTEN OF MY BEAUTIFUL SHIP 8"""DD (Screw Lab rep I'm doing it tomorrow XD)**

***Clears throat* HELLO MY LOVELY READERS! I apologize once more for the major delay in this chapter ;W; But I love you all for being willing to wait for each chapter of this story! YOU TRULY BRING ME JOY IN THESE TIMES OF DARKNESS (Midterms + Performance tasks within two weeks)**

**So yeah, HERE IT IS AT LAST! The Chapter 2 of this very long arc (Wow it's only chapter two omg and like...4 of this arc is already posted... 8"D )**

**I will warn you now that there's not much KarMana in it due to the absence of the other in this chapter X'3**

**BUT THERE WILL BE NEXT CHAPTER! You'll just have to you know...wait ;W;**

**But hey I hope this one was worth those two months of my no-show ;-; **

**And if it's not I'm sorry D"X**

**I'm not even that confident with this chapter since I may be missing some stuff but uGH I'VE HESITATED LONG ENOUGH**

**And yeah this chap's pretty long I supposed X'3 Hope it's a read worthwhile!**

**OKay Lemme just cut this short now since this chapter is already gonna take some of your time let us proceed to answer those reviews! (Which are quite a lot wow okay let's do this!) For both chapter 19 and the Apology chapter (for those I haven't PMed yet due to lack of time)**

**ANYWAYS:**

**kawaiichoconeko: CHOCONECKO-CHAN! Thanks for leaving the first review of the last chapter! As always thank you for reading and yEP. The boy's gotta get rid of what can ruin anything for him, after all XD**

**GingerHale: Well XD Sorry for that! Oh and I love you too for reviewing and reading it! I'm happy to read that you like it! **

**I12BFree: HEY THERE! Yep those secrets will continue to pile up 8") AND MHMM! She may as well sleep with it! (see: in chapters I will write next ;D)**

**FeatherStar18208: ;W; THANKS BRO! And I hope this chapter does not disappoint you! And thank you once again for your kind, reassuring words 8"")) **

**mspotatoes: YES I WILL DO MY BEST IN LIFE! 3 And LOL that part with Karma's jealousy is one of my personal faves too XDD Glad to see your reaction XD **

**TheRoseShadow21: SENPAI! *GLOMPS* Thanks for leaving that review! And it touches me to see that you're very happy whenever this story updates 8)) Your long reviews are always the ones I look forward to! They're always detailed and it makes me feel good about what I write! I can even find points for improvement whenever you leave one! So I'm very thankful for you following this story albeit you being able to write levels better than I can ;w; Oh and I'm glad you like OMo-chan and his comedic abilities to cause chaos XDD HAHA Goiter-chan! XDD Thank you for that compliment! And for mentioning all of those specific parts in the development of the plot that you really liked, thanks again! And I hope this chapter may do well with my absence and explain some stuff 8""))**

**Guest-san: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING MY DEAR GUEST-SAN! 3 And for those supportive comments too! OH and thanks for your criticisms as well! I made it a point to fix them with my succeeding chapters if that's any help! ;D OH THAT FOREST SCENE *FLIPS OUT* I'm happy that you love it ;w;**

**Title Unwanted: Glad you liked it all and thanks for leaving a review! I hope this doesn't disappoint you! And That your wait was worth it for the past you wanna find out ;W; And thank you for the support! I AM HANGING ON A LOOSE THREAD AND FIGHTING!**

**Akatsuki-Metal: Once more, I thank you for leaving consecutive reviews and for the compliments too! I really appreciate those! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**animeandmangafangirl: HEY GURL! (I will do my best to do Takaoka chapter) Thanks for that review as always! And for following this story! YES I HOPE YOU WAIT FOR THAT CHAPTER BECAUSE I WILL MAKE THAT CHAPTER WORTH IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! PLEASE DO STAY TUNED! Mhm. Oh and Karma's parents will debut in this chapter too just a little spoiler ;D**

**Left-to-die: IM SORRY I MADE YOU WAIT LONGER FOR MANAMI-CHAN'S PAST ;W; BUT THANKS FOR THAT LONG REVIEW AND I HOPE I DO WELL THIS CHAPTER! I love you for leaving those nice compliments on the bday scene. I tried to make it emotional and yet try to keep them in character 8"") So reading that makes me feel really good! LOL Chiba XD And Karma's petty book battle is also something I'd like to thank you for commenting on! And Thanks for the good luck on school comment! I FACE IT HEAD ON**

**Quilla The Silent: Thanks! And HAHA Glad you were happy with them ! X"D**

**EmeraldBronze: THANK YOU! Best wishes to you too!**

**Dr-J33: Here it is bro. SORRY!**

**C Anime: YES YOU MAY! Just yeah, credit X'3 AND WHEN YOU DO PLEASE SHOW IT TO ME OR LINK IT PLEASE! 33 But nevertheless, I am glad to know that you think this story is worthy of that 8""))**

**MugiPyon: MUGI-CHAAANNNN! *GLOMPS* THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Those words mean a lot to me! Yes I am glad to be alive and kicking but I'm a racoon now so HAHA ! And It brings me joy to hear that you will follow this no matter how long it takes ;w; (BUT I WILL STILL TRY TO UPDATE FAST!) Thanks again, senpai! I have cheered up 8"")) Hope to see more from you! **

**RikuDai: THANK YOU! I'm very glad you like it! I worked hard on it during th summer and it makes me happy to see that it appeals to readers! **

**Guest: YES I WILL! B)**

**Neemarishima: THANKS FOR WAITING! And thank you for your kind words! And yes I will continue it first of all I hope this was worth the wait! Hope to see more from you!**

**ALRIGHT! LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! (And I have to eat dinner they're all calling me now XDD)**

**Oh first of all:**

***YANKEE IN JAPANESE: you know those high school delinquents that are really full of themselves with the slurred accent and have this violent tendency and everything? Yeah that's what it is. An example is Chizuru from KnT or ****_the_**** Terasaka himself from Ansatsu 8D**

**SO THEN. Without further ado, the long-awaited past of Okuda Manami! **

* * *

**Chapter 19: What You Are to Me (Part 2: What Matters Most)**

The nurse' office was serene that afternoon – or well, as serene as it could be had there not been a little bit of an 'atmosphere' between two troublesome redhead's with a notable age gap. The subtle flaps and turns of the small electric fan placed to the side of the room that had been lit up with a bright afternoon sun that indicated the school's lunch hour. And while there were other noises present like the muffled yells of other students a fair distance from them that come occasionally, the two were much too engaged in their little 'talk' on important matters than to even be bothered by such that it seemed like the room was of pure silence.

"Hehh…" there was a slight pause that occurred after the younger one held up a few photos in one hand and mused with his constant carefree smile. One of the images in his hold had the younger, High school version of the only high school nurse of Kimii – at the time the photo was taken, the maroon hair she had cut short was much longer and often styled into a messy, gothic ponytail that matched her (used-to-be constant) intimidating facial expression as she held up an electric guitar.

"So you were _that_ kind of student."

"SHUT UP!" Inari yelled from her side of the desk – it was obvious from her pout and tone of voice that she was only forcing her anger out to hide the shame she had over her past life. Her arms were crossed and brows twitched in annoyance she wasn't quite sure she directed to at the moment.

"It's not exactly surprising to find out you were a *yankee" Karma smirked slyly as he held out the picture of the older woman's high school delinquent-self – much to more of her annoyance as a vein had popped on her forehead; not only from his usually cocky attitude, but there was the fact he basically shoved into her face the memory of her most hated youthful days.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she raised an eyebrow – but she already knew what he meant by that and narrowed her eyes.

Ignoring the inquiry, he only let his grin stretch wider when he picked up another picture from the nurse' desk where a number of them lay sprawled along with its original container that (at long last) had its contents revealed albeit it only being put to Inari's direction – 'for safety', as she put it. "But it _is_ kind of a surprise to find out you used to be a vocalist in an industry considering what your job is right now – was that where the rest of your womanhood shattered?" what he referred to by that statement with another cheeky grin was the punk-rock theme that was (hilariously) evident in her collection of 'old career mementos' – to think that in the past she was already lacking in feminine traits and to end up that way...

"I'm starting to have second thoughts on whether I should tell you or not…" a distasteful frown graced Inari's face as she let her eyeballs move to the side in irksomeness – the arms she had crossed over her chest tightened their grip around themselves as she leaned back on her rolling chair; after all the effort and trouble she put herself through for this discussion with the person she least expected to have it with, it all ends up with her being ridiculed by him _again_.

However, as if it were something rehearsed, the atmosphere completely shifted – from the comical aura the two of them always gave out whenever they encountered each other on a usual basis to one that defined the real weight of the matter at hand.

Of course, it involved a particular girl both redheads cared about.

"Well then?" Karma leaned back on his chair with a somewhat lazy yet serious expression plastered on – letting the side of his head rest on his fist with his elbow propped on the arm of his seat. At the same time, Inari averted her gaze to the other side of the room; all forms of annoyance in her had disappeared as she crossed her legs and left a blank countenance on.

"What about all of this…" he let his mercury orbs travel down to the scattered papers and other folders upon the rectangular table. Some of which were merely pictures of an old bunch of high school students and some of the familiar sights he'd seen in Hashimoto still in mint condition during that time; another observation to take into account was a few other pictures of a (present-time) twisted chemistry teacher whom also had had her fair share in this punk-rock music industry career and was apparently leader of this nurse' rival band. He didn't pay much mind to when she explained how the two of them were back in their youthful days, but what caught his attention most in their conversation so far was the opened folder of a hospital record that belonged to another woman whose name he'd often heard back in summer. From what he had been told, seems this person had passed away due to a sickness and shortly after, her husband followed after he got into an accident.

_'…But I don't think it's a bad thing to get to know her.'_

_'I may wonder from time to time, but it'll all be the same.'_

"…is so bad you can't tell her any of it?" he finished by shifting his stare back at the older member of the room but kept himself lax in his seat despite how his thoughts were beginning to try and put two and two together. Hearing about this was tragic and everything, but he was sure the one who was oblivious to all of this was well aware of them being long-gone.

After he let his eyes shut mildly with an exhausted expression (she'd dragged this out long enough), his arms hooked themselves to the sides of his chair "I'm just going to have to take a few guesses here, but what isn't bad is what you used to be or how things were…" all of a sudden, the mood shifted into a heavier condition as he revealed a pair of investigative mercury orbs that were upturned to her beneath his red bangs when he finally had his head around what the main issue was with her.

"…but it's how you ended up this way, correct?"

Inari kept herself mute for what felt like several, suspenseful minutes – not meeting his eyes nor moving from her seat. Before he could proceed to say anything else-

"Where's Manami now?"

Just a puny bit taken aback by this abrupt question, he furrowed his brows and sat up straight "Eating lunch with Nakamura in her classroom."

"Alright, that eases a worry of mine." She (hesitantly) had to mentally applaud him for going with that move since she was sure that if those two were together, the chances of the eyeglasses-ed girl coming to where they were to check on them were little to none – Nakamura Rio would not let her go that easily.

Another brief, yet tension-filled silence emanated from the both of them as Karma only watched her look through what was left inside of that case with a blank but sullen expression in her eyes that brought about some sense of mystique to them. Once she had picked up a few other pictures, she tossed one out of her hand and let it slide on the desk and land just in front of him before she reverted back to her earlier position – her legs propped up on a nearby stool as she shut her eyes and said "Do you think you can guess who that is?"

Lowering his head, he took the time to have a good look at the aged picture. Without much thought, he took a guess on who the person in it was from the top of his head "…Manami?"

"Wrong." She immediately replied to this with a little conviction in her tone before she let her eyes open – though half-lidded for the sentence she said next had some sort of heaviness to them "It's Katou Hanako." Her voice was soft and low, but it was clear enough due to the quietness of the room and how those very words felt like a mouthful already coming from her.

Meanwhile, Karma wasn't able to stop the raise of his eyebrows and the blinking of his eyes at her correction – he could barely tell the difference from the girl he knew and the one in the photo; in it, a child had in her hands a cup of ice cream and a spoon in her mouth – lavender eyes were bright with a sense of curiosity that made it seem like she had not seen the capture of the camera coming. She had on a kiddy, light green summer dress with sunflower embroidery by the sleeves and down to the edges of its skirt where the frame was cut; and above her short, raven black hair was a straw-hat designed with a turquoise-toned ribbon. Behind this undeniably quite adorable girl was the café he had once visited – only it was much less run-down and looked brand new compared to when he had gone there. Had he taken the setting into more consideration, he would've guessed it right; but even if he had, it was quite the amazement to see how there was almost no difference between them.

Seeing this reaction from him, Inari relaxed in her seat and proceeded with the talk nonchalantly – but this nonchalance was merely used to mask all her bitter emotions she held towards the past "Did you ever wonder why Manami barely went to that café even if a parent was closely affiliated with it?"

"It didn't really cross my mind…but now that you mention it…"

"It's because I don't want her to have anything to do with them." At this, Karma's brows furrowed in puzzlement – he didn't just not expect that answer, but it was because she answered that way, he already had a few things cleared up.

"I couldn't let her have anything to do with her parents – rather, I didn't want her to." A sigh that released a few heavy sensations in her chest came from her before she shifted into a cross-legged position "The family that owned it had long since had a grudge against them after a few specific happenings – mostly to her father. I couldn't afford to let her grow up with that environment…And also, neither could I have brought myself to tell her about it." She revealed a pair of regretful, dark eyes that pointed downcast at the last statement; but this did not appease any of the thoughts and demands to know in the sadistic boy's mind.

"You still haven't answered the question." Something about his tone expressed that he wasn't exactly fond of things being dragged out like this as he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

"What happened that was so bad, you don't want Manami to know anything about it?" he hooked his arms to the side of his chair and somewhat glowered at her – distrust and cynicism starting to form inside of him with how she was letting this fly; he wasn't entirely sure why, but he somehow had a gut feeling in him that wasn't entirely in favor of keeping the braided girl in the dark with significant things.

Heaving a tired sigh, she at last faced him properly and met his challenging mercury orbs – understanding that he was beginning to get fed up with all these indirect answers and other useless information and just wouldn't get to the main point already; heck, even she was getting tired of talking about this and was irked at her own reluctance to speak

"Alright." Inari spared one last moment to glance at the set of photos and the journals that contained every spec of the happenings at that 'miserable' time of her life until she pushed the case' cover down. "What I'm about to disclose to you is something only Midori and I are knowledgeable of. And starting today, you'll share the same responsibility we bring with us day in, day out. So…"

Not a second was wasted for the maroon-haired woman to let her humorless, sharp eyes pierce through him – and though he wasn't one to be intimidated by a mere glare, Karma knew then that it would be best to take what came next 100% seriously.

"I'll only start where it matters and make it as brief as possible.

And I'll start with the collapse of Okuda Hanako thirteen years ago"

* * *

At the time, I pursued my career as a musician. Business went well for me as I lived the dream I'd been chasing since High School – I was content, and I had what I needed; the only hindrance left for me was my abysmal personality.

_A loud bang resonated through a college corridor from the forced collision of a guitar case to a set of lockers – a woman with maroon hair that had been styled into a punk-like bun cornered an orange-haired woman in her nonchalant walk to her next class as the former spouted jeers and other unbecoming taunts that were unpleasant to anyone's ears; however, the lighter haired one only kept a straight face and paid no mind the other girl's pointless affronts._

I challenged Mikagura Midori often to appease my competitive urges albeit her already saying she had given up on performing and had gone to a chemistry college course. High School was a story of the long lost past; but because our personalities failed to click, the grudges and the antipathies remained even when we'd reached our 20's. The me of back then was arrogant, impulsive and insensitive to most; her only exceptions were a small family that manned a café, and…a girl named Hanako whom she'd known since middle school…

_The image of a weakly-structured girl whose raven locks were most of the time fixed with pigtails that brushed against her shoulder blades with her elegant and light steps under a grove of cherry blossoms of a mundane street in the Hashimoto area of Tokyo – Indigo orbs were bright with wonder as they kept to the blue spring sky by the skip of her step. Her fingers were intertwined behind her back with a feminine posture that many found pleasant – ivory-toned skin almost glowed under the season's morning sunshine as a warm and welcoming smile remained plastered upon her plump face. _

She was a good girl that was rare to find but troublesome to keep – much like her daughter, she was utterly hopeless and trusting to the point she would be used more often than she actually deserved. But that's why she somehow became the only thing Midori and I cared about mutually.

During the time I'd known her, she would always visit a small café where we first met in our small division of Tokyo; Hashimoto. There, we came into close connections with the Arata family and the old man Miho. From then on, I learned that Hanako was often sickly and had a weakly-constituted body.

_ "If everyone could just forget about me one day…I wonder if things will become less sad…" tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, the frail girl's countenance harbored one of glumness albeit the smile she put on – violet eyes that glinted against the sunrays of spring underneath the shade a cherry blossom in full, pink, harmonious bloom were set downcast and withdrawn. The skies were clear and adorned with puffs of white that drifted by with the spring breeze; petals of bright pink elegantly flowed down at five centimeters per second before the eyes of two young girls seated on a park bench._

_"Hanako, Don't say that." scolded her maroon-crowned friend (and her only one) with an exasperated pout as she tied her hair to a ponytail before getting up to her feet and pointing at her exaggeratingly for what seemed like the 50__th__ time that year "You're amazing in your own way! Of all the things I don't know in the world, I do know one thing. That you, Katou Hanako, are going to do some great things one day – You love the world right? So much that you admire every single thing and look at it under a different light. So it's only right that the world should love you back. If they don't then they answer to me." She crossed her arms and huffed as she sharply moved her head to the side with a sort of 'sassy' essence._

_Despite the steadfastness displayed by the taller high schooler, the pigtailed one did not let the sad simper leave her expression while she let her constantly tender eyes turn up to her "You know Inari…sometimes I get jealous of you."_

_The one referred to blinked out of bewilderment; for one thing, the statement was out of nowhere, and another thing, the one that should be jealous was her. She didn't have parents or any relatives she was close to – neither did the smaller girl too, but clearly she had money to support herself and was loved by a fair bunch of people; in fact, she already had a man that set his sights on her. Therefore, hearing this from her was just nonsensical._

_"You can do almost everything – and you even have your future set straight in front of you because of that." The weak-structured girl let her gaze turn to a patch of grass a few meters away from them – eyes half-lidded yet inscrutable._

_"Well…it's not easy living alone with just the savings of your grandparents. There are things I have to work hard for too if I want to survive on my own…" Inari rested her palms by her thighs on the wooden bench – shoulders raising up in the process as she lowered her head and let her stare direct to the floor to the side; not exactly finding this topic a discussion she'd eagerly talk about with her. "A-and besides, I'll need to beat an orange-headed weirdo! So I should be prepared for anything!" the ponytailed girl exclaimed her excuse in an attempt to save herself before the talk could let arise something negative she'd rather avoid._

_Hanako closed her eyes and chuckled a tad "And I admire you for that…but at the same time I can't help but feel like you're miles away from me even if we're close friends. Your talent and capability is really something. All I can do is—"_

_"Are you gonna say you're only good at causing trouble for everyone again?" Inari frowned in disapproval, but her eyes gave off an aura of sympathy._

_"Don't think just because your body isn't strong your heart isn't. I just told you right? I'm going to help make Katou Hanako a treasure loved by many, one day. And we can do it together."_

We were just clueless kids back then…

Eventually, Hanako had changed that dream of hers after she married; and since then I'd lost some contact with her. I was busy with my life and she was busy with hers – naturally, there'd only be a few occurrences wherein we actually get to have a conversation again.

Years passed, and Hanako fell ill because of her naturally weak constitution two years after she bore a child – which was the main reason her condition escalated.

_Raven hair of a now older woman was styled into longer twin-tails that stretched to her waist now instead of just above her shoulders; pajamas were in need of quite the fixing due to the ruffles that came to from lying down too long as she beamed at her visitors from a hospital bed._

_"Isn't that great? You've made your dream come true."_

_And the maroon-crowned woman whom clenched her fists tightly by her sides could only stare back with one thought taunting her mind – and that was that she broke her vow to her because of her selfishness; because she focused so much on making __**her**__ dream come to be and had at one point had taken for granted the support of her frail best friend._

_She failed her._

Her husband, Okuda Akihito, was on urgent call at a research center far out of the country. To that me's misfortune, he couldn't be contacted in any way, and as a result, no one was going to pay for her grave operation. Her disease was supposedly just health deterioration; however, her body couldn't put up with it at all, so it affected her internal organs as well – and that's what made everything go downhill.

It all became worse when it also had to be the same time I had to get an operation myself for my left hand…

_A death grip had been curled around the red-haired woman's left arm without remorse; tears were seen flowing down the sides of her face almost endlessly as she had lost the ability to move her fingers that could now only bend at a limited angle – but all else aside,_

_She couldn't feel anything from her wrist up anymore._

Those were the troublesome days…

Nevertheless, that me of back then couldn't bear losing her best friend more than anything else; because at the time, she was about the only thing in her life that went right. Of course, we live in a world where the things you do are paid back one way or another – and I'd been hit back with a real hard slam to the cold ground. With debts waiting to be returned and my incredible lack of affiliations or wise decisions, I only became so desperate.

But even with my own financial worries, in the end, every ounce of my emotions of that drastic time had been poured into paying for Hanako's operation.

But even then…

_"When I'm gone, I'm sure Akihito-san would fall apart and neglect his responsibilities – and even if I plead him not to, I'm sure he'd be much too devastated to actually listen to me…he was always fragile that way…" a gentle lady whose eyes gave the message that she was aware of her demise had her gaze downcast as these words escaped her pale lips. _

_Weak fingers curled around themselves on the bedsheets to hold in a remorseless waterfall of emotions that threatened to escape those crestfallen pair of lavender eyes._

_"So," _

_And after she forced a beam, she turned her head up and gave her friend a heartbreaking expression. _

_"Take care of Manami for me."_

…were the last words she said to me.

During those days, Manami was only left at home with a girl named Meiko to keep her company on daylight hours whenever her parents weren't around – she'd only visited the hospital once to see her mother, but that once was also her last.

Back then, I'd taken her heed for granted – I told myself I had no time to care for a three year old and had to focus on getting that long-awaited operation I needed. But I spent a year trying to earn my funds back again, but no matter what struggle I forced myself to, nothing went right; I was dead broke and the failed operation made it worse – so I sunk down to a pitiful level and started thinking that her husband should be the one paying me back.

_"You good-for-nothing bastard!" a slam, followed by the contact of flesh on flesh with the sound of a slap had resonated across a trashed living room – bottles of beer and other alcoholic drinks were mindlessly laid across the kitchen table and even on the floor with the added putridness of other wrappers, cigarettes and a lot of other disgusting trashes._

_"You weren't even there when Hanako died! Stop acting like you actually witnessed everything from when it started!" a tight grip from a woman's right hand showed no mercy as knuckles had gone white with boiling fury when they grabbed the collar of a middle-aged man who could be compared to a rehabilitation patient right now as his form suspended lifelessly from her hold and only under the mercy of the girl's arm strength. _

_"I paid for Hanako's operation! If you really did love her, where were you when everyone needed you here?! __**Where?!**__"All wild, narrow eyes were met with were the soulless, brown eyes that hid behind the spectacles of a pathetic man who had neglected his life as we know it – drunk, depressed and uncaring of what would happen to him…_

_And the one who had abruptly interrupted this ugly confrontation by the almost non-existent click of a door not too far from the adults; and when Inari turned, all she was met with was a tiny girl whom hid behind the door warily – purple orbs that resembled its original pair were frightened and almost lifeless as the little girl with the short raven hair tried to get herself to speak with a high-pitched, and uneasy voice that came only a little above a whisper "P-Papa…"_

_Inari's eyes couldn't have become wider from disbelief when she took notice of the dimness in the room she had come from and had begun to let her thoughts run through wildly while the three year old child continued "U-Uhm…uhm… I…I want to play with Meiko-san…"_

_"Manami, go inside." Finally, words from him, however they were not at all pleasant to the ears as they were barely audible, but had a sickening tone to them._

_"B…but…"_

_"Go inside." It was a louder voice, one with more command as it startled the girl and nearly had tears fall out of her eyes from how scared she was before she obliged with a terrified "Y-yes…! P-Please forgive me…!" and as opposed to how she came, she sharply brought herself back inside with the gentle shut of the door._

_The maroon-haired woman needed to take a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened before she slammed the man to the nearest wall – anger now doubled as she snarled in a dangerously quiet tone "What the hell was that?"_

_Akihito kept himself despondent – which only had her blood boil increasingly for that meant her unfortunate guess was right. _

_"You…! You've been keeping your daughter alone inside a room?! Why?!"_

_No response – and the anger only had another feeling mixed in with it; an anxiousness that caused her chest to feel a throbbing pain "Just so she wouldn't disturb you while you grieve for your wife?! For one less trouble to deal with while you mourn pathetically?!"_

_Not even a blink came from him as she said this – even with the added violence she had exerted by aggressively shaking him back and forth, he did nothing to deny her "Answer me and at least tell me I'm wrong!" there was a cry to it now – one that had her voice crack and her eyes quiver with held-back tears from the horrendousness of such a thing; she found the act just horrible even with her own distasteful personality._

_And within the dim room that filled itself with a wreck of science books and lab equipment, the lone child crouched by the corner of the room as incessant yelling from a scary woman she didn't know came from outside. The only things that came to be within her chest were feelings of fear; and she didn't know what the other one was at the time, but surely it was…_

_Loneliness…_

_Just as she realized she yearned for some company, she turned to the clutter of scientific messes within the room – they were the only things that had been around her since the day her father had ordered her to stay in here until she was allowed to go out; and that order repeated itself everyday ever since her papa started to act weird when he came back from another country. So, like she always did for the past year, she managed to stand up straight and display a small smile to the only company she had ever had; her 'friends' in the playground of math and science._

It wasn't a year after I stopped by at his place when I heard he had gotten into an accident while driving from work. But…it was only when they rushed him to the hospital when he finally started thinking straight and acting like the father he was supposed to be– all…when it was too late, and his condition was beyond saving. Manami was with him that time, but then…

_"I'm sorry, Manami-chan…"_

She went through something she didn't ever have to.

About a year after that day, in the middle of all my struggles, I'd suddenly been called by the hospital and by Akihito's lawyers.

All of them told me that it was stated in both parent's will and testament that their daughter was to be left in my hands. No other relatives or close ties were present aside from the Arata Family and old man Hide – but even _they_ had their own issues and frictions with her father and how he had become after Hanako passed. And I'm sure…they didn't want the fragile-hearted Miho to be reminded of her passing everyday with her mirror image walking around.

At first, I was angry – thinking things like 'After what they both put me through, I'm left with _their_ responsibility again?'

I was full of hate, anger, frustration – even if I did show up in the hospital, I didn't want to see her face nor even let myself have anything to do with her. I was fed up with the name Okuda, and I no longer wanted them to share any fragment of my life. I wasn't related to them, why should I care?

That was until…I found her all alone in the hospital waiting area outside of the room where she had become scarred for life…

_"Look, isn't that the girl that saw her father die in front of her?"_

_"Poor child…"_

_Small pairs of legs were suspended upon a green bench attached to the dull, cemented walls of a hospital. Spots of sunshine seeped in through the clouds out the opened windows just right above the petite form of a four year old child that had witnessed a sight children her age – even those who are older – should never have seen just about a week ago._

_And the people around her talking about it didn't help much either._

_"Oi, kid."_

_Sullen and glossless purple eyes steadily traveled to the origin of the aggressive voice with slight question until they were met with the exasperated frown and tired eyes of the scary woman she had seen one time approaching her and stopping with her hands to her hips. _

_"I'll be living with you from now on, but that doesn't mean I'm your family. You can just play with your friends whenever I'm gone but I don't want you to be a big trouble at home, alright? If you so much as disobey and disrespect me even once that's one dinner away from you. Understand?" her tone was commanding and harsh – not exactly the ideal type of way to speak to a timid little child; then again, circumstances remained and emotions were hard to push down at times like those._

_However, even with that set of words unbecoming of an adult, she was met with silence – the lavender eyes that very much resembled the ones the older woman had gotten herself familiarized with had almost no life to them as they were droopy and expressed no emotions but negativity and a dull mood. _

_"…N?" Seeing as there was not even a spec of reaction as the raven-haired child averted her gaze by the lower of her head, Inari's stressed countenance wavered and had laced itself with bewilderment. _

_"Manami won't disobey." She started with a quiet, barely audible voice that almost seemed hoarse from how unused and reserved it had been – from there, Inari's frustration gradually faded away…_

_Why wouldn't it? She didn't sound like a child, she sounded like a robot; uncaring, dull, and cold. _

_ "And Manami won't need to leave the house. Manami's friends are at home…" in her short and skinny arms, a chemistry textbook had been pulled closer to her body as if in search for comfort; her dark, callous-like eyes going half-lidded as if the ceramic, tiled flooring of the hospital was the most interesting thing at the moment – but her mind drifted elsewhere, that was evident in the monotonous words that came from her small, pale lips._

_The grip around the old book tightened – the tiny braids at the side of her head brushing against the shoulders that tensed up just now "Manami just wants to…stay out of the way…"_

_With that last sentence, a memory had been triggered in Inari's mind – one she had thought to have been swept away after all these years; but in contrary with that assumption, the words that had been repeated over and over back in her youthful days had played again – and with it, the image of a lovely girl she had once known and held dear to her._

**_"If everyone could just forget about me one day…I wonder if things will become less sad…"_**

_She didn't know what came over her, but seeing this child had brought about – though it be slight – a change of heart within the maroon-haired female. Somehow, her heart had softened; whatever hatred that had her body radiate with fury just moments ago had dissipated (albeit in particles) right then and there. The reason of such wasn't very clear to her, but just laying her eyes on the girl for a number of seconds was more than enough to have anyone get stricken with a remorse so poisonous it was enough to have you forget about all other emotions known to existence. _

_Heart wrenching at the idea of such a young girl undergoing so much pain and misfortune already, Inari's only response was silence and the lowering of her eyelids; her arms crossed over her chest as an expression of seriousness kept itself plastered on her face – but no, she wasn't angry anymore. (At least, not entirely)_

_Although she may see this little kid as a part of the reasons her life is a big brouhaha now, a more powerful feeling won over everything else; and that was how Manami…_

_Had her mother inside of her. But rather than having depression take over like most would be when reminded of a deceased loved one, a different urge had formed – and she considers the chance of fulfilling the vow she made to this child's mother back then. That's when she had a thought,_

_It felt as if the idea of raising her would help make up for that enormous burden of regret she'd once harbored every day since her life had begun to take its great downfall – and that was the day she had come to terms with the fact that she had, at some point in her life, abandoned what was really important to her. And before her eyes, she may have just found what it was she needed to start things anew – to make up for the mistakes she was well aware she had committed and had caused all of the misfortunes in her past years to occur._

_In Hanako's stead, she would let this girl grow up to become what she had failed to make her late best friend – someone treasurable and strong enough to hold her own. She will not allow the events of the past to repeat – she'd never be able to live with herself ever again if she was aware that she had merely left this child – whom Inari knew had hidden potential inside her – to fend for herself when she had been presented the chance to do something about it. _

_"Hey…" the sudden gentleness of the so-called 'scary' woman's voice had gotten the attention of the small girl and had her lift her head – once she had though, Inari had already crouched down to her level and looked at her directly with tired yet resolute, dark eyes; this, however, had only raised more questions in her childlike, inexperienced mind._

_Seeing the tilt of her head in confusion, Inari held out her arm to her – but refused to look to her direction as she said with a dismissive tone "Once we get home, you better take a long nap." _

_It wasn't a complete change of heart; of course she still had malevolent feelings – one cannot simply dismiss them so easily…_

_But it was a start._

_It may be cumbersome to use this girl as a substitute to ease her feelings of failure and regret – but the powerful bond they were yet to share with each other had rooted from such awry emotions and ill-suited motives. _

_"…Home?"_

_"Mhm. You and I are going to go back to the same home starting today." _

To cut it short, in the end I was able to get myself that operation, but I sold all of my music producing junk just for it – I didn't mind it for too long; I convinced myself to start a new road. It was also the quickest way to get the both of us living without much to worry about so it was a good call on my part. I sent Manami into good schools just so she could hone the talents I'm sure she could possess and for me to have a closure on her future. The insurance money and the other savings her parents have piled up were more than helpful, but I knew that wouldn't be enough. So I applied for jobs everywhere; the ones I knew I was capable of doing at a daily basis so I could get the both of us to live comfortably in the apartment her father left for us in his will. But I know I couldn't support the both of us with just a multitude of part-times so I got into college with the help of Midori – how we became friends after that was still a mystery to me, but I'm sure she also had her fair share of devastation when Hanako passed.

So then…

I took a medical course because a possibility came to mind.

The possibility of what happened to Hanako, happening to _her_. With that being said, I live everyday hoping that it would not happen again; and that if it were…I only hope to be more prepared for it compared to last time.

_Under the showers of a merciless rain that violently clashed with the floor of what used to be grove of lively trees, a single woman who had lost nearly everything in her life remained still – with nothing but lament as she only stared up at the lonely trees that were beyond saving after their life span had died out…oddly enough, it was as if it was only by the withering of these trees did it really feel like the one who used to come here all the time had passed on._

_Just behind her, a small girl whose only cover from this strong rainshower was a yellow raincoat that guarded her body held onto a picture of a dark-haired woman – however, all that could be seen now was what once was a smiling face blurred out completely by the rain._

* * *

"I often left Manami home alone just so I could repay all those debts though – it was a tight time of my life, those years; but it was fun." Inari shrugged at the last three words with a deadpan – treating the subject matter like some kind of casual conversation now that it was more or less over.

The one who had been listening for a while now on the other hand, had himself completely subdued in the duration of her storytelling; mercury orbs were cast to the side – keeping their detached gaze etched to the glossy, ceramic flooring of the infirmary. He wasn't one to outwardly display his emotions so easily, but this had become an exception as he kept his glum expression downcast – his heart feeling a bit of weight that had it throb a tad due to the array of emotions he had just been injected with. It wasn't the first time he'd sat back and listened to someone's past, but nevertheless, the things he had just registered in his mind were absolutely nothing to take lightly.

Karma's fingers were curled around his hand while he let his thoughts swim through in a somewhat disheveled fashion – he didn't know what he should have his mind around at the moment; hearing all this and at the same time trying to find out what to do about it, he wasn't certain how to respond as the school nurse whom he now knew too much about carried on with the rest of her talk.

"But now all's fine enough. The possibility I'd thought of disappeared as the years went by; her body became strong – especially after last year – so I'm able to rest easy now. So now, I'll just have to be living the same way until she's able to live and support her own. I've changed." Another shrug at the last two words came with a sigh afterwards. Her legs which had propped themselves on a stool were properly set back on the ground so she may sit in front of him appropriately.

Slowly revealing her dark eyes from their half-lidded state, Inari stared down at his inscrutable expression – with that, she was unsure of what he had in his mind; but she was aware that he had brought his mood to a downing "All I'm doing now is waiting for her to grow up. But as you know, that isn't coming anytime soon." She tried to sound teasing at that last sentence in an attempt to lighten up the mood, but even she had to admit she was just forcing herself – it's not a nice thing to touch back on a past you'd wished to have forgotten about.

Meanwhile, Karma couldn't let the image of the spectacled girl leave his mind.

_'I may wonder from time to time, but it'll all be the same.'_

Leaning back in his seat to try and ease his distraught, he sighed in order to lift some of the heaviness in his chest before raising an eyebrow at her – expression shifting into one of nonchalant inquisitiveness that masked the rest of his feelings

"Are you sure it's a good idea to continue keeping this from her? After everything that's happened, if you explained it to her properly, I'm sure she'd at least have the strength to accept it." A pause followed after that while he raised his head to stare at the concrete ceiling laxly; his eyelids lowering in the midst of his thought process – that of which, had nothing that wasn't connected to the eyeglasses-ed science geek.

"I told you I didn't want her to have anything to do with all of that anymore. That way, she and I can focus on what's in front of us." Inari replied – keeping serious and as unreadable as he was; but that inscrutability was short-lived by the time he looked at her again, and he didn't need to say anything – not even a simple '_You know that's not possible'_ to get her to avert her gaze in a tad bit of shame.

"Even if I did explain it properly and assure her of things I know she'd fret about, think about it more. If Manami were to find out about what her parents did, how is she supposed to view them as now? Do you really think she'd be the kind of person she is now if she was to know the truth behind it all?"

Karma then recalled a single summer day – a nearly empty train, an afternoon sun beaming through the window showing a rapidly moving view, and lavender orbs that yearned for something to fill the space in her heart underneath the glint of her eyeglasses.

_"She…smelled good…and had really…warm hands"_

And as his gaze lowered once more at this recollection of her longing for her so-called 'great' parents, the tone of voice the school nurse had just let sound had come out with more conviction as compared to how she was speaking just a while ago – and that only meant her next sets of words carried an importance to them that mustn't be overlooked.

"But most importantly, it's because she'll be aware of the wrongdoings of her parents that she'll feel responsible for their actions." Brows mildly scrunched together and arms folded to her chest once again, Inari's eyes were met with the evident realization the boy's face had come through with just about milliseconds after she said that – his back straightening from impulse and eyebrows raising once he had fully understood what she really meant by that.

"That's right." The woman nodded once and let her dead serious eyes lay on his now slightly troubled figure.

"Manami is most probably going to think that she had been forced on me and would blame herself for me having to give up on my career; for spending precious money I could've used for myself instead of a person with 'good-for-nothing' parents that aren't one bit related to me. She'll think that it was all her fault that I had to give up on a lot of things; that she'd caused me a lot of suffering and could do nothing to compensate for it. But I only hope that's the extent of what she'll start to think – if it goes farther than that then…" she trailed off – some anxiety on the thought of her knowing beginning to kick in as her own expression of distraught came to view.

The concerned pair of pale-gold orbs directed themselves to the ground while he attempted to imagine how things would turn out if she _were_ to find out. After seeing how great of a state she'd been in lately, it would be inevitable for her to end up wallowing in the sorrow of what she had yearned to know about all this time if this reached her ears. Where would all that beautiful love and affection go were she to find out about her being brought up by parents that did nothing but make her current guardian suffer? What if she reverted back to the same hopeless, lost girl she was back in the beginning of the year? What if it ended up turning out an even worse result? Just by being reminded of how she had hurt a childhood friend once, her strength from last year had dissipated; what more if it was something as heavy as this? Finding this an unpleasant thought, he felt his fists clench and turned away – and here he was against the idea of keeping significant things like these from her.

"…I realized too late it was a mistake to have hidden the truth from her. If she had known at an earlier age, maybe this wouldn't cut too deep with her and she wouldn't mind it eventually. But because I've hesitated so long…For someone like her…this'll be hard to take in." her tone of voice momentarily turned grim and fraught with guilt until she heaved a breath and in turn faced the clutter of objects on the table.

Reverting back to her earlier casual front, she leaned back on her rolling chair and crossed her legs "I could've burned them all, but I just couldn't bring myself to. It's a good thing I didn't though – who knew I would need some of the junk in there for some government whatnot. Manami would've been taken away from me had it not been for that."

Inari unfolded her arms and propped her elbows on the armrests of her chair "So the lesson here is, even the things that bring you pain can come in handy someday~" she sarcastically let her palms open up and spread her fingers in mock wonder which was very clear from the lazy way her voice dragged out her vowels on the last syllable and the dull expression she had on. Deeming what she had just done completely unnecessary and downright unfitting, another sigh had escaped her lips – this was no time for silly antics that needlessly dragged out significant topics such as this one.

Bringing her eyes to her conversation partner, she perceived the way he had his head lowered at an angle enough for her to see how he brought his worried eyes to the far corner of the room – with that (not very obvious) look of distress all over him, the school nurse only frowned.

"Don't look that way."

Karma raised his stare and proceeded to look at her blankly; all the while, Inari had pointed a finger to him and tried to let her next words portray themselves with conviction by adding a powerful ring to it – similar to how one would reach the climax of a lecture by spouting out the most important point of the day.

"What matters most is the Manami of today. As long as things keep going the way they do now, she'll be more than fine."

Although she said this and knew it all too well himself, he still could not shake away the conflicting thoughts that raided his mind.

_"I don't think it's a bad thing to know about her. I may wonder from time to time, but it's all the same."_

_"I…want to know for some reason. I really want to know…then maybe I can support her in any way I can when I do."_

After moments of another vexing silence, he finally spoke – though it was in a low, humorless voice that would've barely been heard due to its quietness as he let his red locks hover above his mystical pale-gold eyes "…You're going to have to tell her about this sooner or later."

Inari took a moment to blink at that – eyebrows raised slightly due to the unexpectedness of a response such as that one; but let it not be said that it took her by surprise. Staring up into space again, she spoke with a slight evidence of hidden moroseness "I've always been thinking of the best way to tell her. I don't want to just slam it into her face all of a sudden. But now that I've seen how happy she's been lately…" her eyebrows wrinkled closer together while she directed her rueful, dark orbs to the nothingness of what was underneath her table.

"…it's been getting harder and harder."

_"I'm really…really…so happy I can't even let words describe it. I guess only my tears can…"_

'"…Uh-huh." Karma couldn't help but join her in this mutuality of their views on this. "I get what you mean." Leaning backwards and resting his hands behind his head, he had to fight back a sigh as she invaded his thoughts again.

It's because she'd been that way lately, he himself had gotten quite cautious with his actions – though they were only subtle and just side thoughts usually, he made it a point to watch what he would do recently; and the reason was undoubtedly because of Manami's current state. If anyone were to do something that would trigger _anything_ that could possibly affect her in a negative way, he'd deem it best to knock that someone out cold – this does not exclude himself.

But even as he was about to conclude his understanding on this, another significant thought came to mind "Then, was telling me a good idea? Now that I know, I could just nonsensically blurt this out to her." This was said in a sarcastic type of cheerlessness; there was no way in hell he would, but he was just making sure if she was really as careful as she made herself out to be.

She knew where he was going with this – and with that a slight grimace made it to the school nurse's countenance as she spoke her next words with her narrow eyes averted to the left "She talks about you all the time and brags to me about you 24/7. Honestly, she doesn't run out of things to say about you" An bratty pout had formed due to her (irresolute) distaste to her memories of such – regularly she'd come home with her first words after 'I'm home' being 'You know, Karma-kun did this and that' and so forth.

"But…" setting her personal disturbances aside and concluding that at the very least the young girl was happy, Inari sighed and fixed herself in her seat

"That's why, I can take this chance to trust you to keep her the way she is right now...Because Manami is starting to take so much notice at the worst of times too." Though being talked about by _her_ regularly had probably been the most pleasing thing he'd heard today, this had caught Karma's attention – indeed, though it had started only all so subtly in summer it had somehow escalated to something else from that point on. And there was the factor that it was, of all the times, in the midst of the time of the cultural festival…

Inari's expression was stern as she spoke another set of dire words "It's because she wants to know she's been getting closer and closer to it; despite how she is, Manami is a smart girl, and she'll be able to figure things out eventually if I'm not careful enough. Even if the slightest bit of my old life reaches her ears, it'll all start connecting. So I'm telling you all of this so you – or anyone for that matter – don't end up saying something accidentally and causing trouble in the future." _'And, well…it's about time I got someone other than me to look after her.'_ – She'll never admit it, but she can feel like she can count on him.

Manami does, so should she.

And she did not forget how she saw him as a good kid the evening she met him – he just needs a little…

Growing up.

"Don't let it get to your head. If you're going to brood about it, think of how much it'll get to **her** if she finds out. So focus on the present – Manami is at the best state right now as you've observed. Just help me keep it that way." Inari had at last finished – her dark orbs hidden beneath her closed eyelids as she took subtle breaths to ease her tense heart; it wasn't always easy to talk about a time in your life you'd hoped to have never go back to. However, once she had noticed the strange silence that came from the other, her eyelids lifted up only to find the usually focused and rational Akabane Karma with his stare to the ground to his left in what looked to be in profundity what with his scrunched brows.

"Hn? What is it now?" she probed nonchalantly, which somehow had the boy jump the slightest bit in his seat for she seemed to had snapped him back to his current situation. "Ah, no…" he immediately retorted, gaze not leaving the sun- glossed, tiled floor. It's not a surprise to see that he had his head filled up at the moment, but on the other hand, something else had unknowingly lingered in his mind…

"But…is there something else you haven't told me?"

Those set of words were not within Inari's expectations, but she showed no sign of this and kept herself subdued. After seconds of silence, she narrowed her eyes at him before facing the other direction and concealing her eyes once more – crossing her arms in the process. "Smartass."

"That just means there _is_ something." Karma raised an eyebrow at this, to which she immediately responded to with a mock, trivial tone. "Do you wanna know?"

"That's what I'm here for."

"Well that doesn't matter right now."

At that very moment, a chime rang throughout the entire campus before either could do or say anything. It had rung slowly, as if it had vibrated the entire school. Unconsciously, both redheads found themselves listening – like they had forgotten they were still in school for a moment there. Fortunately, this had let Inari's sense of alertness return as she pushed her seat back and stood up. She did not allow the other to pursue the topic further as she declared –

"We're done here, hurry and get to class."

* * *

Karma did no such thing.

_'If you're going to brood about it that way, think of how much it'll get to __**her**__ if she finds out'_

The school's courtyard was empty and placid – that was apparent for classes were still ongoing (his bad habit of skipping classes was yet to diminish). The silence in the area was absolute; not a ruffle from the trees and bushes, not a simple stir of a crowd nor living thing could be heard save for the light, docile footsteps of the red-haired teen. His schoolbag hung on his shoulder as he continued to walk with his hands laxly placed behind his head – expressionless, mercury eyes did not tear away from the sunset-hued, cloud-filled sky.

By this time, the light of the setting sun was beginning to sprawl all over the town – the shadows of buildings, trees and monuments stretched wider upon the hard concrete of the school campus in which Karma aimlessly walked in solitude.

As minutes flew by, he only found that he was delving deeper into his flood of thoughts. That time when she got locked in that wretched cellar, he found her just sitting there; not doing anything nor moving. Was it because she was used to the dark, cramped, space…?

Sometimes it was a problem being gifted with smarts – he couldn't keep himself from imagining what she may have been like when the school nurse spoke of the fact Manami had practically spent two years or so of her childhood inside a dark room; with no one to talk to but the clutter of science books and lab equipment, and probably only her shadow to keep her company during that time. It wasn't unusual to be bad at socializing or getting along with people, but now that he was aware of the entire story and the root cause of his bespectacled friend's behavior and love for science, somehow it had all become…

Sadder…

Karma stopped walking right then – he slowly averted his half-lidded gaze from the sky and let it fall to that of a set of bushes in the distance. Of course he didn't think much of such plants, but after looking back at that time in summer wherein he knew almost nothing…and thinking through every single thing Inari-sensei had told him about….

So he finally knew…

…What now?

That was his biggest dilemma now – aside from the fact his mood was rather put-off by all that he had heard. Other than now knowing for a fact that such a kind, caring person like Okuda Manami had quite the history, he began to wonder…

What is he going to do when he faces her again later in the day? No, he knew what to do, but he also knew that he couldn't face her the same way again now that all of this decided to persist in his thoughts.

A sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped and her let his arms fall to his side – thinking about this way too much had in some way exhausted him. He doesn't usually overthink – neither does he ordinarily treat things like these as such a big deal to fret about but…

He somehow couldn't stop himself if _she_ was the one concerned.

Karma then muttered with an exasperated sigh "What a drag…" – being in love, he meant.

_Rustle_

A small, nearly inaudible hum of surprise emitted from the boy after he was torn away from his trance by the abrupt sound of the bushes to his right – to which he sharply turned to afterwards. His alert, cautious instincts taking over, he scanned the area with suspicion until his eyes landed on the only bush that was juddering amongst the many others.

_Rustle _

_Rustle_

_'Pwi!'_

Bringing his guard down and feeling his tense form cool down, he approached the set of plants after heaving yet another sigh; he didn't even need to guess what it was that had disturbed his thoughts as he laid his bored, mercury eyes upon the overfamiliar furball of hybrid weirdness –which was currently sniffing the different leaves and grasses as it trotted about as if in search of something. But as soon as those vertical, dark eyes perceived the characteristics of the shadow that had just loomed over him, Omo-chan let out another _'Pwi!'_ in…acknowledgement? No one ever really knows.

With nothing better to do, Karma crouched down to the strange creature he had somehow gotten accustomed to seeing by now (somehow) "Hey, where's your owner?"

_'Pwi, Pwi!'_

He was well aware that talking to such a thing was pointless, but at the moment he felt as if it were some way to get himself distracted as he picked it up from its sides and lifted the furry thing to face level – oddly enough, Omo-chan sensed no fear at the teen's state at present; and of course he would always act upon fear, but this was different now for the little animal did nothing to keep the sadistic redhead away from him.

On the other hand, Karma had attempted to ponder on what species the thing in his hand really was – but even _that_ had led him to another memory.

_"I…want to know for some reason. I really want to know…then maybe I can support her in any way I can when I do."_

At that, he could feel his mood becoming off again as he lowered his eyelids in front of the little animal's quizzical stare.

"How lucky must you be – to not have to worry about that kind of stuff…" he dully commented and was about to set the creature down until –

_'Pwi!'_

All of a sudden, Omo-chan leapt off of his hold and onto Karma's head before he scurried off to some particular direction – leaving confused mercury eyes to follow after its frantic form as it disappeared behind the nearest building.

Still in the midst of bewilderment, Karma decided to follow it anyway having nothing better to do at the moment as he lifted himself from his crouched position and casually walked towards the pig-bear's destination (It was around last period anyway). "Oi." He stopped walking before he could turn to get around the building and called to the creature sniffing about once again by a single tree situated behind a line of uniform shrubs. Behind it all was a metal fence that separated the school campus and a column of trees that would eventually lead out to the roads.

"Omo-chaaan?" he called out once more with a disinterested yet mocking manner – what with the prolonged 'chan', since this was the first time he had officially called it by its given name (Mai would be brimming with joy if she had heard it); that, and he was still a little glum from everything he'd been told just an hour ago or so.

The several quiet _'Pwi' _'s that came from Omo-chan as he sniffed at a particular area had not failed to pique some of Karma's curiosity – opting the redhead to walk over the line of shrubs and have a look at whatever it was.

The pig-bear, discerning that he was being closed in on, had scampered back a bit to reveal what it was he was frantically snuffling. And coincidentally, Karma found himself caught by surprise when he had thoroughly examined it "How did this get here?"

Against the light of the sun glinted a beaded, spearmint bracelet he had seen not too long ago as he picked it up and let it lay on his palm – there's no mistaking it.

This was the present Nakamura Rio had given _her _just the night before.

And once more, she had flashed upon his thoughts – only this time, it was of that happy event and the face she had when she received it. With everyone gathered, having fun and sharing a laugh like a group of normal high school students; though it may be what he had once considered superfluous at some points of his life…

_"Let's do our best in the Cultural Festival!"_

Seeing her that way was all he could have ever asked for that night.

_"What matters most is the Manami of today…"_

Unconsciously, a smile had stretched his lips upwards. For some reason, his previously troubled head had been relieved – the weight he had felt upon his chest for some time now had been elevated. He thought it best to relax for a bit as he sat upon the grass and let his other arm support the rest of his weight by stationing it behind him. Bringing the small, feminine accessory against the light of the sun, he felt a knowing grin spread across his features "Oh well, she's a klutz after all. Guess I'll just return it to her." He said to himself lazily, but undeniably in a genuine, refreshed tone.

Finding comfort in his position, Karma leaned his back against the tree and decided he'd wait for class to end there whilst he brought out a snack from his school bag to pass the time. In his hands, he now had a pack of spicy potato chips – just his taste.

_'Pwi! Pwi!'_

"Hm?" Before he was able to have a bite out of one, the brown furball had once again grabbed the redhead's attention with the incessant 'Pwi' 's as it scuttled around him as if asking for a reward – understanding this, Karma raised his brow inquisitively.

"Are you allowed to eat this?" not like he would get a response, but if he were to feed it with some (make a mental note: EXTRA) spicy chips, he began to wonder how his senior would react if she ever found out. But inferring it may as well be something amusing later on, mischief laced Karma's grin as his sadistic side turned up once more that day – which had honestly brought him a nice feeling.

"…Oh well." Without another thought, he tossed the pig-bear a piece and found enjoyment when it had successfully caught it and gobbled it down like there was no tomorrow.

Minutes later, Omo-chan started running around him again; at a faster pace this time.

* * *

**...I just hope I did well 8""))  
**

**SO AS USUAL! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW FOR SUPPORT AND IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR REACTIONS! It makes writing this more fun ^w^**

** I tried my best to insert it in my hectic schedule so I hope quality is not affected Q3Q**

**oh and I seriously hope this did not disappoint you and SORRY FOR OOC ESPECIALLY FOR KARMA! I have this huge feeling he is this chapter...;w; SO SORRY ABOUT THAT I'm a little rusty with their characters since it's been long indeed 8""((**

**Ohkay wait so lemme just tell you guys something XD**

**I just had a random thought during Science class…Do you guys think that if I made Mai-senpai and Asano meet…they'd become shippable? I mean…student council and all that X'3 Plus their personalities are kind of okay together in my opinion?**

** Either way, I may create a spin-off out of such an idea once I find the time to! It's basically AsanoxOC only the OC comes from this rather popular story which I kind of think would be amusing XD **

**Oh and if you like this, you can even write your own thing out of this idea if you want! (Since I doubt I have time haha stupid school) Just make sure to credit accordingly! ^w^ PM me if you have any questions on this! 8D **

**Yeah I will eat dinner now it's probably cold XDD**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND THANKS FOR READING!**

**With all the love in the world and all the apologies and all the sweetness of a strawberry shortcake,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	21. Chapter 21

**AFTER MONTHS, HERE I AM AGAIN! AFTER STRUGGLING AND WRITHING AND NEARLY PASSING OUT A FEW TIMES, I AM FINALLY HERE!**

**Gomene for the wait minna-san ;;w;;)/**

**Since all of the work as well as all the drama in my life got to my head, it was a little challenging for me to write another chapter since 1.) It's been quite a ****_long_**** while since I last legit updated and I had to refresh myself on how these characters were like and 2.) I haven't been feeling myself lately and lastly 3.) I FORGOT HOW TO WRITE BECAUSE I LACKED INSPIRATION QwQ **

**So this may explain any OOCness that you may notice in this chapter (That doesn't mean I'm excused from it though 8") )**

**Seriously, I haven't even been watching _anime_ since school was too busy for me to handle my time D8**

**So I do apologize if this chapter is quite nonsensical and a little too dragging at some points since I kind of lost my touch over the past problematic months 8"")**

**I assure you that I'm doing okay now though 8D I was able to work everything out somehow uwu **

**SO NOW I'M WRITING AGAIN YAYY!**

**Oh by the way, this chapter's been divided into two because it turned out pretty long again X""D BUT it's short compared to what I usually posted since I had no idea how to post this in two parts but posting it as one part would be way too long DX**

**I told myself I'd post this chapter no matter what, but then I realize I have school tomorrow so I couldn't really make time to finish the entire thing (BUT I'M ALMOST DONE HAHA), and I also have a number of things left to do so uwu)**

**HOWEVER, since I swore that I HAD to post something today, here you have it! Half of an extremely long chapter XD (Looks like this cultural festival arc will be longer than I thought with the rate I'm going ;;w;;)**

**Oh and I deleted the unneeded chapters for this story since well...they were unnecessary right now XD**

**I can't answer reviews right now since I'm barely hanging on, but surely I will try to do so in the next chapter which I will post tomorrow or the day after that! (Hopefully)  
**

**ALRIGHT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, YET ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THIS VERY LONG ARC**

****Retrace: Chapter 14**

* * *

**Chapter 21: What You Are To Me (TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL!)**

"Omo-chan got really bad diarrhea today…"

"That thing can do that?"

_'Pwi….'_

It was after class hours when the club decided to meet-up like they usually did for their cultural fest preparations. By then, the sun had already neared its final moments as only small spots of orange rays were able to seep through for the remains of Kimii's student population to admire. White light reflected upon the polished, wood-toned floor of Kimii's gymnasium in this evening hour. Its corners were occupied by the finished products of the club's months' worth of hard work. The walls of their setting were folded in a neat and tidy fashion – ready to be used for the following day. Among the spaces near it, the props and traps prepared by each of them (especially by their infamous redhead) lay upon the floor organized. The entire room had been adorned with other designs befitting of their cultural festival attraction as curtains of black covered the walls from the edge of the ceiling down to the floor.

It was about quarter to 6PM when Isura Mai came into the gym with a worried countenance as she carried in her arms a peculiar creature that the combat club members were frankly getting accustomed to by now. Omo-chan had on a rather pitiful state of mind and body as his eyes basically resembled that of a high drunkard's.

Although Mai's distraught face was enough to make anyone want to comfort her, Chiba and Sugino couldn't find it in them to show pity on their faces and instead studied the creature in their senior's arms with question.

_Grrchou_

"What was that?"

"It's his stomach probably…"

"_Probably?"_

Over on the other side of the room, not even Rio could stop herself from joining in on this as she watched the scene – she had her thumb's nail squeezed in between her teeth and her other hand rested on her hip which signified that she was thinking about a number of things that may be similar to what the two other boys were thinking.

Yuzuki on the other hand (whom stood next to her) had busied herself with her cellphone – obviously troubled judging by how she bit down her lower lip and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

After a few more brief moments of watching, Rio turned her attention back to her coconut-headed friend carrying the same amount of concern and confusion she held "Did she reply yet?"

"Nope…" The brunette shook her head in an almost hopeless manner – she'd been trying to contact her for a while now.

The blonde heaved an exasperated sigh and scratched the back of her head as she said "Hmm…where on earth could she be _this _time?" she recalled all the other times wherein she would suddenly get lost or they'd simply lose sight of her; that has happened a lot more times than they found were needed. Though she should get used to it, this was a completely different story.

That's because Okuda Manami was known for being _punctual._

"It's weird…she's never this late…" Yuzuki's worry was evident in her pink orbs and in her voice as she scrolled down to the previous messages she'd already sent her for about 10 minutes or so now. If she were to count, they'd probably reached up to 11 by now – that was how worried she was.

"Did you text Karma-kun?" Rio suggested casually; however, it took Yuzuki a few blinks before she got what she was saying and snapped her fingers once she did.

"Ah—oh yeah! They could be together right now." She mentally slapped herself for having not thought of that possibility as she proceeded to try to contact their well-known prankster – who was another member that was not present, but they didn't question that bit too much. Lately, the two of them being together is considered a norm for them;

_After all…_

Yuzuki's texting slowed for a brief, almost nonexistent moment.

_Rio's not the only one who's noticed it…_

While her friend pursued contacting their other club members, Rio – out of boredom – began to toy with some of the props and traps a little. She nodded with hums a few times in approval and because she was genuinely impressed; they were indeed well-done by Akabane Karma after all, she shouldn't expect less from their previous' class' top notch student.

"Ah, Karma." Both girls' shoulders jerked up slightly when they heard the name come from Chiba's mouth as they both sharply turned to the direction of the front door.

"Yo." Speaking of their top notch student, there he was casually entering the gym in that relaxed manner he always did – only, what put off both the blonde and the brunette was that…

He was alone.

"Where've you been?" the spiky-haired, sporty boy greeted him with a smile having averted his attention from his senior's ill pet.

The teenager in question shrugged at this blithely with a trademark smile that accompanied it "Just listened to some old hag talking."

Unbeknownst to the two girls, they had been staring at him for a while now in a mix of surprise and uneasiness – they had not moved an inch since they watched him enter. Sharp and sensitive as he was, it didn't take long before Karma sensed their eyes peering onto him (it was hard not to notice too).

"What's up?" he raised an eyebrow – inevitably having them gain the attention of everyone else in the room.

Both girls exchanged a look before Rio turned back and responded to him with a slightly troubled countenance – which was rare coming from her "Manami isn't with you?"

The boy in question raised his eyebrows immediately after he heard this. Of course, all of them were aware that she was supposed to be punctual – especially him. Therefore, to hear about how she had not yet showed up at his time took him aback; however, that wasn't the only thing that came to his mind after hearing that for he had begun to think about that time earlier when he found her new bracelet lying about upon the most unlikely of places. From there, he begins to wonder if there was some sort of connection with that and their current situation. "She's probabl—"

_BANG!_

He was interrupted by the sound of a body slamming upon the large doors of the School Gymnasium followed by the pants of a petite, high school girl – preferably one with glasses. It took a few moments for all members of the room to recover from their jolted state, but once most did, smiles of relief stretched on each of their faces as Chiba was the first to remark with a knowing look-

"There she is."

Since he was the one whose back was directly turned from the entrance, Karma was the last one to turn and face her properly – however…

He didn't know if he was imagining things, or if his mind was trying to provoke him, but what his eyes saw first the moment he let them reach that door was not what he anticipated one bit.

Mercury eyes wide with complete, utter shock, the sight he was first met with was the tearful face of the child form of Okuda Manami as she stood by the door of a dark room. Glossy, lavender eyes were filled with remorse, loneliness, suffering and the agony of loss as they seemed to be calling out to him – as if begging for someone to rescue her from the dark world she's been trapped in.

The image had not lasted for too long for in no time it had blurred and faded away into her real, present-time and agitated form as she mustered to say "S-s-so…s-sorry…I'm…late…" and stepped inside the facility.

"Hey, Okuda!" Sugino was the first to greet her with a wave.

Whilst all else were greeting her casually like so, Karma had to take a few seconds to realize he had a surprised expression stuck on his face and had not stopped staring at the girl. Briefly after, he breathed a sigh and looked away – whether it was out of exasperation or fatigue, he didn't know; maybe it was both, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that his own mind could probably be his enemy at the moment (which is honestly not a first). With his hands inserted into his pockets, these thoughts swam through his head as he made his way over to where all the others gathered.

"Sorry, I—" Manami had not answered any of them properly yet as she was still trying to catch her breath – hands resting upon her knees as her chest heaved up and down.

"Oh Manami-chan, what are we going to do with you?" Rio teased and approached her panting friend with Yuzuki – whom placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow before she asked "Well? What's gotten you so riled up? We were worried, you know?"

The raven-haired girl lightly giggled in a guilty fashion and fixed her glasses "S-Sorry…"

"So, what's the story now?" Rio crossed her arms and gave her the same knowing look her otaku friend was giving her – really, they both feel like her older sisters of some sorts after everything that's happened throughout the year.

"Story?" the braided girl tilted her head a tad at the inquiry only to be pinched on the cheek by her impudent (yet lovable), blonde haired friend – naturally allowing an adorable sound and reaction to come from her.

"I'm asking you why you're late." She replied to her in a mock lecture-like way as she released the short introvert's cheek from her hold and put her hand upon her waist – the sly look still plastered on her features.

"Well…" purple eyes drifted to the side with slight guilt present as she let her delicate fingers twiddle about – obviously it was something she was greatly troubled by, otherwise she wouldn't have sacrificed her always-on-time reputation.

"While I was heading back to the classroom after having lunch with you guys, something suddenly jumped out of nowhere and I fell down. After that, I wasn't able to realize soon enough that it took something very important from me until I saw it running away. I was about go and chase after it, but then the bell rang and Amamiya-sensei even ran into me telling me to go to class with him. After that, I didn't know what to do and just went with it." As she explained the scenario, it was as if the entire thing played above her in some kind of chibi-like flashback. Manami let out a tired, almost hopeless sigh and held her forearm timidly "I've been trying to look for it ever since class ended but I still have no idea where it could've gone…"

Whilst the bespectacled girl remained fidgety and perturbed, the two girls standing in front of her could only stare at her for seconds before they proceeded to exchange looks with all else in the room who listened to her story. Concluding that they all must have gotten the same idea from it, they let their stares drop upon the brown furball going through gastric pain.

"Wait a minute…"

"Could it be…?"

"Probably…"

While Manami shifted her head amongst her friends as they had this strange and vague conversation, the other six only continued to squint their eyes at the small animal (save for Karma who only attempted to whistle 'innocently' as a sly smile spread throughout his face as he folded his arms behind his head). It took a few more seconds of glancing at everyone for the poison-lover to be able to grasp what her clubmates could be talking about, but once she lowered her head and noticed the suffering animal-

"**HEH?!**"

"Anyway, I'll have to take him to the veterinarian before this gets worse." As eyeglasses were about to mist due to its owner welling up in tears of tribulation and disbelief, Isura Mai finally decided to do something about her pet's condition and picked up her school bag. It would seem that this second year had tunnel vision; she hadn't even greeted the newcomer and just now she failed to notice how the introvert standing behind her as she headed out was beginning to fall to (an adorable) despair as well as the fact that almost everyone's pejorative eyes followed her.

"B-but…" (Comical)Tears threatening to fall by the sides of her whitened eyes, Manami raised her trembling hand uneasily as she pathetically attempted to prevent her from leaving – still overwhelmed by the likely possibility they all had come up with.

_'Pwi…'_

"Omo-chan what on earth has gotten into you?"

"M-Mai-sen… –" Although the girl continued to make weak and futile efforts to stop her, no one else decided to lend a hand for her on this. Because they knew that if they were right, it'd be useless.

"Good luck everyone~! Have a wonderful evening!"

"S-Sen…–"

She saluted goodbye in the polite, happy-go-lucky fashion she was well-known for. And whilst the rest could only watch her depart with deadpan expressions that signified how disappointed (yet unsurprised) they were by her actions, all had come to the same inference that the older brunette didn't follow the flow of the conversation just now and just went off without a thought.

"As expected of the great Student Council Vice President of Kimii." Yuzuki commented dryly – putting everyone else' thoughts into words right then.

"B-but…Mai-sen…–"

"Okuda," Sugino put a hand on her shoulder "It's too late."

After the stunned Manami mumbled a cracked, helpless (and comedic) 'heh?', the sounds of a vibrating phone reached Rio and Karma's ears – turning around to find the source, Chiba already picked it up.

"Hello? Ah, Hayami. Is it done?" He gestured to excuse himself and walked a fair distance away from them as he pursued his conversation with his girlfriend (but not).

"Hm…" Defeated, Manami's shoulders slumped and head bowed down in utter disheartenment. Seeing this, Karma chuckled and brought out what he knows is most likely what she's looking for – letting it hover above her head from behind her just to get that adorable face from her as she turned her head up with inquisitive eyes. "Was it this you were looking for?"

A small sound of surprise came from her before she blinked up at him with realization and exclaimed "That's exactly it!"

Smiling with satisfaction, the redhead dropped it to her cupped arms and moved to properly face her while she asked "How did you find it?"

Karma shrugged "Well, let's just say coincidences brought me to it." – even though he doesn't believe in crap like fate, destiny or chance.

"I see…" Manami easily bought the explanation. Her expression remained painted with astonishment for her eyes had not left the spearmint-colored bracelet in her hands – she had almost lost all hope of ever finding it and disappointing her precious friend, so to know that one of her most valuable possessions hadn't been digested was more than relieving. And like always, the boy standing in front of her had given her that relief without fail.

Her expression softening and shoulders relaxing, she looked up at him with kindhearted eyes and a genuine smile "Thank you."

Karma smiled back at this – pleased at her reaction. However, the image he had of her when she first entered abruptly came to mind and replaced the radiant expression in front of him; ruining the lighthearted moment on his end. His smile faded away in a snap as he began to feel a slight discomfort somewhere in his chest. All of a sudden, he recalled-

_"What matters most is the Manami of today. As long as things keep going the way they do now, she'll be more than fine." _

And then he realized what that discomfort was.

_But…isn't that the same as…_

The same picture flashed once more, only this time it was like he could imagine that room she grew up in – all alone and with no one to talk to. She had nothing except lab equipment and science books as the world had fallen into chaos just outside of it.

_Living in the dark? _

"Karma-kun?"

The all-too-familiar, concerned voice of Okuda Manami had snapped him out and back to reality – the first sight he laid eyes upon being the bespectacled girl's fretful expression "Is everything okay?"

It took him a brief moment to recognize that she was troubled by how he had only been standing still with a resigned countenance after she thanked him. Unwilling to explain himself, he lied and ruffled her hair – faking a grin while he was at it "Why wouldn't it be?"

Unlike what he had hoped, that answer didn't satisfy her at all – it would have had she not gotten to know him very well this year. After everything they've been through, a blatant lie like that won't convince her. Refusing to accept that, she raised her head and clutched the hem of her blazer "Bu—"

"Yo, everyone." Manami sharply turned to the side to find Chiba pocketing his cellphone.

"Hayami says the tailor's done. She's waiting for us there right now."

* * *

It took them only about 2 train stops to get there.

"Here you go, just as you wanted them to be."

An old man – likely to be older than sixty – settled a few plastic bags upon the counter of the small shop for the pigtailed girl in front of him to take. His hair had already become grey, which matched the toothbrush mustache that nearly made his lips unseen. Aged as he is, his back was slouched and his eyes were narrow and comparable to mere horizontal lines on his face. He wore a green sweater over a white polo and a blue necktie which suited his brown pants; befitting of him for Rinka had to admit, her first impression of this man was someone approachable and pleasant to talk to – which he had marvelously fulfilled.

The sounds of ruffling plastic could be heard inside the slightly stuffy, small yet patently cozy shop; located on a rather steep hill that is likely to be dangerous for bikers to ride down on**. It wasn't the best looking workplace considering how old it must have been already – the wooden equipment, table and pillars holding up the ceiling were beginning to peel. Dust collected in some of the corners of the room and above the old shelves stationed on each side of the wall that carried rolled yards of cloth. Albeit all these, it had a pleasant atmosphere nevertheless. The scent of new cloth and sewing machine oil drifted through the warm air of the indoors decently gave the shop a homey mood due to the cold air of fall.

But of course, it was the people in charge of it that made this place all the more comfortable – what with the polite and gentle way the couple that owned this shop spoke and behaved, it was as if Rinka was speaking to people she had long since considered as family despite the fact she'd only met them today when she came over to deliver their costumes. Heck, they were even kind enough to serve her a delicious snack while she waited for them to finish all afternoon since class ended. But what she found most lovely about her stay here was when they had even given her advice about Chiba.

But she won't go into much detail for that.

"How much would they cost?" Rinka set the seven plastic bags onto the floor one by one as she asked in the typical, professional-like manner she always would when dealing with serious affairs.

"Let's see…" he said feebly as he flipped through the pages of a folder containing bills and order forms before he stopped and handed it to her with a smile "Here it is."

Sharp, emerald eyes skimmed through the expenses like she usually would quickly yet carefully – that's one of 3-E's top snipers for you. "Does this already count the loan one of us owes you, Okimura-san?"

"Sure does." The man named Okimura reassured her with a nod.

"Thank you very much. Excuse me while I go tell them."

"Alright."

Rinka bowed respectfully and kindly excused herself out of the lobby to enter the waiting room behind her.

What succeeded the creaking sound of the wooden door was the idle chatter of her clubmates as they made themselves comfortable on the couches – which surrounded a single coffee table decorated with old antiques, traditional good luck artifacts and a neat doily which suspended in air from the edges. Her entrance had caused them pause in whatever conversation they were having and give her attention; especially as she ordered them "Everyone, bring out your wallets."

"How much are they asking for?" what Chiba got as a response was the bill being sassily shoved in front of his face (but not exactly offending him in any manner) by Rinka with her hand rested on her hip in the same fashion.

"It's 16,100 yen – that means 2,300 per person." She said this in a matter-of-fact tone of voice that accompanied her cavalier-like expression. The dark-haired boy nodded at the bill and their list of expenditures before the girl in front of him let it rest on the table.

"I wonder if the others are doing just as well as we are." While everyone complied with the order, Sugino started up a conversation right after he had placed his share of cash above the receipt – gaining him the attention of all in the room (even Rinka who busied herself with recounting the money).

No one even needed to ask him what he meant by others; it was clear as day he was talking about the rest of the graduated 3-E.

"Hah, there's no denying that~" Yuzuki scoffed in a prideful manner at her classmate's remark with a buoyant grin as she rested her chin within her palms in her lean forward.

"Oh! Speaking of them," Rio perked up and enthusiastically leaned forward from her seat with a jolly smile on – looking to be eager to share some interesting news "Just today I heard from Nagisa, Akari and the others that they're class is planning on doing a play to reenact last year's big 'plot twist'." A single blue eye winked craftily as the last two words were said.

Of course, all of them immediately caught on with what she meant by 'plot twist' – sure there were a lot last year but if you were to put both Kayano/Akari and Nagisa together in the same sentence with 'plot twist' and 'play', that could only mean one thing.

Shiota Nagisa's famous 15 Hit Combo.

"Really?" Karma joined in the hype of the conversation after that – that was one heck of an experience from his most beloved days, after all (it's also needless to say that he was already thinking of ways to tease/harass/make fun of his best friend).

The golden-haired girl nodded and continued on with a smug look on her face as she sat properly and opened her palm as a hand gesture while she explained "Course, they said they had to change a lot of things so they wouldn't expose real people involved and the fact that it's a government secret, but it's all the same banana. Besides," Rio chose that time to wink at all of them again seeing how she successfully piqued their interests "He was able to get permission from Karasuma-sensei."

Sugino sing-songed a brief, upbeat hum after the last two words and leaned back in his seat in that childlike, carefree fashion he always had "It's been a while since I heard that name – feels a little nostalgic."

"I'm with you on that one" Chiba commented – voice laced with agreement and sentimentality. "But in any case, how did he get to contact Karasuma-sensei?"

"This is Nagisa we're talking about, right? That kid's a kiss-up." The pigtailed boy's best friend didn't hesitate to tease once more as he laid back in his seat without a care in the world with a smug look.

Rio had to fight to hold her laughter a bit at that remark and struggled to even say "Uh-huh, you can say _that_ again."

After the rest got what she meant, even _they_ had to keep from laughing too hard – even Rinka had to give a point to Rio for a wise joke like that. (Get it? Because it's Kayano and Nagisa they were talking about)

"But you know…" Yuzuki stepped in the conversation again – a reminiscent gloss in her pink eyes as she relaxed her shoulders and looked towards the light provided for them directly above the table. Leaning back and intertwining her fingers, she said "When you think about it, it's never going to beat the real deal."

A moment of comfortable, nostalgic silence passed them by – smiles of longing for bittersweet memories were evident upon each one's features as they gave respect to the heartfelt experiences they dearly missed. Especially the one that gave them all of those experiences…

"Look at the bright side," Rio, wanting to break the poignant mood and keep up their previous lighthearted one, brought out her phone and played with it in her hand "At least I can have a chance to have another copy of that in my phone." she impishly said and stuck a playful tongue out afterward.

Understanding that she tried cheering all of them up, smiles of appreciation came about on each one's faces before they were replaced with sighs – Nakamura Rio has never changed even since then.

"That's only your bright side; both of them are gonna flip when they see it on the internet again." Sugino folded his arms behind his head and relaxed in his seat as he jokingly commented.

"Aw shucks, I've been caught red-handed." Karma humorously added immediately; with no guilt present upon his face at all, to say the least – which broke out a laughter amongst all of them at last.

Not being one to join in conversations much, Manami only kept silent in her seat as this lighthearted moment went on – which they found no harm in. A warm fuzzy feeling filled her chest while she observed their smiling faces, their playful gestures and their friendly chatter. Lavender eyes brimming with delight, she watched her dear friends continue with a tender, loving and motherly smile as she relished in this moment of happiness.

_I wish things would remain as they are right now…forever…_

She fleetingly inhaled and exhaled as if it was a way to savor this time even more so – eyes fluttering shut as she let her ears listen to their pleasant talk. However, just as she had found bliss, a single thought had caused her to reveal her purple orbs once more as they fell slightly downcast

_Our happy Cultural Fest Preparation Days end here…_

_All of our planning_

_All of our hard work_

_All of it…is going to pay off tomorrow_

As these thoughts continued to occupy her, the sounds around her had somehow became hazy and indistinct just like how she perceived her surroundings now as well. At the time, all she was able to catch on was the blurred voices of Rinka and Yuzuki saying they were going to head out to the counter followed by the shut of the door. Afterwards, she couldn't really comprehend anything else as she clutched the hem of her skirt.

_Strange isn't it…?_

_This feeling…_

_This feeling…in my chest right now…_

_What do you call it again?_

_Tomorrow…hm…_

"Kind of anti-climactic, huh…"

Manami had been snapped back to reality after Rio had seemed to accidentally mumble that out loud. After she spared a glance to her direction, she had this strange feeling that she was going through something similar to what she was just thinking.

"Did you say something?" Chiba asked, not quite catching what she said – which appeared to be so for the rest of the boys.

"A-Ah, nothing…" she quickly dismissed it – and before anyone could attempt to pry, the door had been opened by none other than their eminent female sniper.

"We're all set."

* * *

**THAT'S IT FOR NOW! Pretty uneventful for me, really uwu BUT I still hope you enjoyed nevertheless OuO)/  
**

** Think of this as somehow like the double treat I was able to give you for chapters 8 and 9 ;D (The Field Trip Arc). Only these two halves are much shorter compared to those two uwu**

**I'm most likely going to post the next half ******(I'M SO EXCITED FOR THAT ONE HONESTLY) **tomorrow since I just finished finals and we're pretty much going to be free for the rest of the week...hopefully.**

**But honestly I am hyped for the next chapter. And to put your hopes up, here's a little sneak peek ;D**

_**'...it took her less than five seconds to realize that she may have just fallen for him...'**_

**That's it for now!  
**

**And it honestly just feels good to be back after all these months so a BIG THANK YOU TO YOU DEAR READERS FOR KEEPING ME GOING DESPITE EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON ;;W;;**

**I could cry right now QwQ**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS UNEVENTFUL CHAPTER IF EVER YOU HAVE ANY!**

**With all the love in the world,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	22. Chapter 22

**HALLO! HALLO MY LOVELY READERS! I'm not dead XD **

**Alright, first of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all had a good one and things were peachy for you guys in the season! **

**Anyway, I'm going to start with a few apologies**

**First, once again, apologies for the super duper late chapter! I had a lot of doubts about it since I've gotten rusty and lacked a lot of inspiration to write. That, and there's the fact that I almost forgot how these characters were like (ESPECIALLY OUR MAIN PAIR LIKE I FORGOT WHAT I DID TO DEVELOP THEM SO IT TOOK ME A LOT OF REREADING AND REWRITING) Oh and also, I was planning to post this as a year-ender (as in Dec. 31) but since I had a lot of parties and all that to attend as well as dinners to prepare for the family, it became really REALLY hard for me to find time to write DX**

**Nevertheless, it _still_ is my year-ender chapter for you guys since I told myself that no matter what I had to post in these special holidays for the readers I love so much. ^W^ I hope you like it!**

**Second, I apologize for a lot of OOCness. Like I said, I somehow kind of forgot what these characters were like ;;w;;. So it became a little challenging again to get them in character for the scenes I'd planned since before. Oh and when I say a lot of OOCness...I mean a LOT of OOCness! But I have told myself that it will just be for this chapter. I'LL FIX MY MISTAKES FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS I SWEAR! But for now...please bear the OOCness with me ;;w;;**

**Third: The review answers will have to be PM'd since I'm beat XD IM SORRY AGAIN!**

**Okay so, this chapter took me lots of days, trials and errors, scene changes and all that...but now that it's January, I decided I'll stop hesitating XD So I winged this chapter and I'm hoping for the best!**

**I still do hope that it's enjoyable though! ^W^ **

**If anything is amiss or bothersome (which I'm sure is a lot, because I even get a little doubtful with the scenes I wrote) please put it in a review so I may know what to do ;)**

**I won't keep you guys from reading the chapter so I'll leave the year-ender love letter to you guys after it ;D**

**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

**DISCLAIMER: The Classroom of Assassination, I own not. (BTW WHO'S WATCHED STAR WARS?)**

* * *

**Chapter 22: What You Are To Me (Part 3: TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL! Pt.2)**

"Good evening."

An old woman whom appeared to be well-past retirement age greeted all seven of them with a bow once they had fully entered the lobby. She had her grey hair tied into a bun with a Japanese flower ornament and was short compared to even Manami – about four feet or so in estimation. She had on a long-sleeved white dress that reached up until her ankles which were covered by white socks – her shoes being the traditional slippers one would wear when attending a summer festival. Her white dress was lined with emerald piping around the hems of the clothing and around her waist – the impression she gave out was someone who was very cultural and family-loving, which none of them could be wrong about.

It was only seconds after that were the other five able to recover from their state of mild confusion – due to it being so abrupt – and humbly bowed back with a collective "Good evening."

"Oh! I'll introduce you guys!" thank God for Yuzuki breaking the small ice between them as she enthusiastically approached the counter – standing between the two elderly folk with an energetic grin as she gestured to them accordingly "This is Okimura Akiko-san, she's the one that made everyone's costumes." The old woman Akiko bowed accordingly at her introduction with a gentle smile on her face like she did so the first time. Gesturing to the man in the counter, Yuzuki continued "And this is her husband, Okimura Shinichi; he took care of our other props."

The one named Shinichi took a bow as well; the same type of smile his wife had on his face present upon his. After the bows of respect and gratitude were exchanged, the others proceeded to retrieve the plastic bags that held their respective costumes – Manami's being the biggest one due to its complicated and sophisticated design; fortunately, it was light enough for her to handle.

"Okimura-san," the short-haired brunette referred to the couple as she performed yet another bow which obliged the others to follow as she said "Sorry for all the troubles we had to put you through for a while." – sure they were assassins and troublemakers that fell into the End Class but that didn't mean they were never taught what proper conduct was.

"We hope we didn't cause any of you too much of a bother." Yuzuki asked for their pardon once more with a genuinely sympathetic expression – she _had _come to them with a lot of things to demand (plus with detail too) and a short amount of time. Despite how guilty she felt, all she got out of the couple were the same feeble and kind smiles they had on since earlier.

"Oh, it was no harm at all." Akiko waved her hand to relieve the vexed otaku and continued with her hands clapped together in front of her chest in a motherly manner "It was enjoyable experience and a pleasure on my part to help out. These days and at this age you never really get to do much of anything, so to feel useful despite how old I am is like a blessing to me. The ones we should be thanking are you bunch." She said this with an unwavering smile and the type of tone of voice that you would naturally hear from any loving grandmother – which brought even more, flattered smiles from the combat club's members; except for the infamous redhead that merely toyed with the ornaments and other antiques that adorned the small shop; a childlike glint in his eyes as he watched a small toy play out a brief battle between samurais.

That's Akabane Karma for you.

"Thank you very much again, Okimura-san. We'll have to go now since we'll be pretty early tomorrow." Yuzuki began their farewells as Chiba opened the front door for them that was accompanied by the sound of a wind chime before each headed out one by one.

Both Okimuras waved them goodbye "Have a good night, but it's quite late though; how far are your houses?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine." The brown-haired girl assured them before taking her leave as well – feeling the cold, autumn night air beginning to seep through her long sleeves as she left the door open for her to depart.

"Ah, I see. Having an adult here to bring you home eases my worries."

"Yep. So—…heh?" Raising her eyebrows at this in confusion, Yuzuki turned around to find her clubmates sharing the same surprise as she did when their eyes perceived the features of their school nurse – who arrived just in time as they were about to leave it seemed. There she was, stepping upon the top of the very steep hill where the Tailor's shop was ejected. She was out of her nurse attire and had on a yellow blazer to protect her from the cold over a navy blue blouse that matched the blue of her jeans; albeit the rather teenage way of dressing, she still appeared very adult-like ('It must be her age' – Karma would like to mentally add).

"Inari-sensei?" Sugino was the first to acknowledge her presence after she had taken a few steps closer to them – her arms were crossed and her expression serious.

"Inari-nee? Why are you here?" Manami finally spoke and approached her guardian as the others gave way for her– inquisitive lavender orbs looking up at her.

"Hm? I texted you that I was coming for you all, didn't I?" Inari stated this as if it were an obvious fact and tilted her head.

"Texted me?" the braided girl muttered to herself and shuffled her hand inside her bag in search for her phone. Indeed that message was there – along with 29 other messages from two certain others that caused the shy introvert to squeal and jerk her shoulders up in a mix of shock and guilt; the prominent ones being from both Rio and Yuzuki which said _'Hey Manami-chan, where are you right now?' _followed by _'Did anything happen? What's taking you so long?' _scrolling up a bit more, she found '_WHERE ARE YOU IT'S LATE WHAT ARE YOU DOING ANSWER YOUR PHONE!' _ then _'C'mon, if you're not here in 10 minutes I'm gonna lose a bet to Rio-chan…' _and then there was _'Okay I lied there was really no bet going on' _and finally _'I'M GONNA SPAM YOU UNTIL YOU ANSWER.'_ – thus explains the rest of the messages.

"Honestly, you should check your phone more." The maroon-haired adult sighed in deadpan to the frantic, young girl – slightly disgruntled but not at all surprised.

"S-Sorry…" Manami sighed in a defeated manner along with the lowering of her head and the slump down of her shoulders. As this 'lecture' went on, all Yuzuki and Rio could do behind her was nod in utter agreement

Seeing this, the other combat club members found it quite amusing – the way their familiar school nurse scolded the girl. It was always quite fun to see a how a friend acted toward their domestic relations. On the other hand, Karma had different thoughts as he watched the small sermon with indifferent, mercury eyes that held his cynical thoughts – he knew their history now.

Well, at least most of it.

He too had sensed that familial relationship between them. Only, as far as he's concerned, there was a sense of deceitfulness within that bond. A product of desperation, forcefulness, complications, irresponsibility, and fear – weaved together by the needle of regret and the thread of self-gratification. That was what he grasped from the relationship of the two now, and he was supposed to keep it all a secret.

_For how much longer…?_

He inconspicuously shook that thought away for the time being and drove his attention to something else – such as some of the suspicions that had risen due to the woman's unlikely arrival.

Manami heaved a sigh and, with slight discomfort, faced her friends – not entirely sure of what to do next "Well, erm, now that Inari-nee's here to pick us up—"

"Hah? Whoever said I was picking you up?" the older woman interjected; causing the girl to sharply turn back in a jolt and find her co-resident with a raised eyebrow and a roguish expression that only meant that she had something quite cunning while at the same time may affect them badly in mind.

Confused, the chemistry-lover tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows in a tad bit of disconcertment – getting a strange feeling that something she didn't favor was about to happen "Eh? But you said—"

"I said I was coming for you, not bringing you home." She corrected with a humorless and commanding tone. However, _that_ was taken away by the time she let those now cheeky, dark, narrow eyes glint towards them with a mischievous plan hiding behind them.

"So…get ready for your last exercise."

By that, even Karma had felt somewhat confused and instinctively became cautious of what this woman might do. Heck, even Rio and Chiba simultaneously said _'heh?'_ at that.

Before she did anything, Inari spared a glance at the one boy she trusted an entire story of the past to – which she was sure, knowing how sharp he was, he caught eventually although it only lasted a split second. He wasn't sure what she wanted to achieve from that, though he can tell she knew what he was thinking all afternoon – though it was an obvious outcome. Even so, the nurse still hopes that her message eventually gets through to him.

"Now," Without a second thought, Inari roughly grabbed Manami by one arm – inevitably getting a sudden _'Ack!'_ from her – and without another two seconds passing (and before the victim of this could even properly recover from the shock and retort), she commanded with a loud voice-

"Everyone, **RUN**!" and pushed Manami down the steep hill without giving anyone time to react.

In a time shorter than a gasp, and shrunken, purple orbs receiving the sight of the ground becoming closer, she screamed.

"U-U-U-UWAAAAHH! I-I-I-I-INARI-NEE! T-TH-THIS IS DANGEROUS!"

The dainty girl struggled to balance herself upon the steep, asphalt road. She tightened her grip on the plastic bag that held her costume due to the fact that it was being brought up by the cold wind of fall – which enveloped her body as she felt herself get pushed down by gravity. Lavender eyes becoming wild along with adrenaline and fear electrocuting her limbs.

"Don't worry! There's a river that'll break your fall if worse comes to worst!"

"THAT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!"

The rest of the teenagers left on the top of the hill were frozen and slack-jawed at the fast sequence of events – there wasn't even time for them to recover from that at all as they only watched their (most accident prone) friend run down the hill while struggling to even keep alive.

A particular blonde however, apparently had to comment with "Woah, look at her go." While even putting a hand above her eyes as she watched the poor girl – earning her some looks from Yuzuki, Sugino and even Rinka as well. Chiba on the other hand, still couldn't move from his shocked state.

Ignoring Manami's continuous screams to her, Inari faced the others and snapped them out of their trance with "What are you still doing here? RUN!" she even vigorously pointed down the hill.

With a howl of enjoyment, Rio spread her arms out and let the wind take her hair; exhilaration beginning to pulsate through her body as the sense of freedom and fun emanated from her. It was at that time, she let all the care in the world escape her and simply relished in the moment. Unlike the others, she was able to apprehend immediately where the nurse was coming from with this and did not hesitate when she jumped up and ran down – it was undeniably dangerous, yes, but this was just the kind of thing she was asking for.

Since it looked like fun, and the fearless, danger-seeking assassins inside of them had been reawakened, the next one to start running down was Sugino – whom did so without a shred of doubt upon his face that only brimmed with excitement as he exclaimed the same thing the girl prior to him did. Pink orbs blinking about 2-3 times at how unexpected she found that, Yuzuki could only watch on with a mix of astonishment and amazement. But it only took her less than five seconds to realize that she may have just fallen for him again (which she feels she should get a reward for since she finally said it out loud – mentally).

Taking a deep breath, the otaku was the next to run down accompanied with a "Here we go!" as she even mimicked the running stance of some famous ninja anime – but at that time, she didn't even spare a single thought about being judged and let the wind let her short brown hair fly with it.

Sooner or later, the sniper couple exchanged a look of disbelief due to their friend's antics and reverted back to the reckless teenagers. Rinka even beginning to question if anyone was still sane as she inwardly uttered _'Have they lost their minds—?!'_ most of her surprise must've budded from how, of all people, _Sugino_ was the _second_ one to leap for action. But either way, that downhill run, to her, was not only insanely dangerous, but—

"C'mon, go." Inari nonchalantly said from behind her– a look of mild impatience evident on her face before she planted a hand on her shoulder with a light force to push her off the edge.

"Heh? W-Wha—!" apparently that light force was enough to actually bring her to start running down – mostly because the tap on her shoulder let a shock course through her unprepared body and mind which eventually made her jolt from where she was standing, trip, let her find balance, and finally allow herself to be under the mercy of her own equilibrium and gravity.

The agitation was short-lived however, for Rinka was immediately graced with an indescribable feeling of excitement the moment she felt the same sensations the others were; that wasn't the only reason though, and the dark-haired sniper that succeeded her – after sighing at their cheeky 'instructor' for her immature, yet clever actions (he was secretly thankful for it though) – shared the same feelings. The fact that it was against how they acted in the norm was why it felt so exhilarating; it was almost like their action-packed, thrills of last year had come back to them in a single surge of adrenaline that urged their legs to move forward and out of their control. Not long after, smiles had stretched across the two's faces – for the time being, they let go of their professional, businesslike demeanors to celebrate the effervescent run with the rest.

This left Karma to be the only one out of them left atop the hill.

Strangely enough, in normal circumstances, he would be one of the first ones to even join in the craze without hesitation nor care, to say the least. He would have though, if a question hadn't been incessantly going through his mind since she got there.

The redhead turned around to properly face the smug-looking woman – his mercury eyes searching her as he interrogated "What are you planning with this?"

She mockingly replied back with a "Who knows," with a shrug whilst she slowly approached him. Inari softened her smug expression and replaced it with a knowing smile– only further bewildering the troublesome boy. With a shrug, she slowly approached him whilst mockingly saying "Who knows – But why don't you find out?"

"Eh—" inwardly cursing that he failed to catch the mischievous glint in her eyes immediately, he couldn't believe he didn't see what was coming to him next – she didn't even give him time to respond before she pushed him down the hill (with the best feeling ever) to join his jubilant friends in their youthful running spree.

Thankfully, he was one of the most athletic in the assassination classroom; otherwise he wouldn't have found balance immediately and caught up to Sugino – which dismayed the other three behind him but it did not surprise them.

While the others threw some joking remarks at Karma such as _'What took you so long?' _or _'About time!'_ and the like, Manami, whom finally was able to find balance by the time she reached less than halfway the long hill, had been too occupied by the current sensations that gushed through every part of her body. She could feel her braids flying behind her with the crisp air allowing goosebumps to grow around the back of her neck area and send chills up and down her spine as if she were riding a jet coaster – she hasn't even ridden one yet, but she was sure the feeling could be exactly the same.

Her purple orbs remained wide, yet wondered as ever as they stared on at the bottom of the hill that's just waiting for her at the end. From what she could see, there was a bicycle rack stationed at the right side of the road where a mall stood and over to the left was the ever-glistening river she had always walked by – that would only mean her house was on the other side of that river; but that's not what's important now.

Manami didn't know what triggered it, but she suddenly recalled:

_'You can't do it'_

She recognizes the voice of those disheartening words anywhere – Mimura Naoki. But despite that, she kept running.

_"But either way, a girl with that kind of personality has no chance of winning him over or even any other less cool guy in the school!"_

_"He must be pretty tired to deal with someone __**so troublesome**__."_

_"It's not like I expected anything from you anyway."_

Manami's pace quickened ever so slightly. Not many were able to take notice of this, but the emerald eyes of a professional sniper are keen and fast to react; her eyebrows raising a tad as she wondered what had brought such up.

_"An introverted, cold-hearted killer like you will __**never**__ understand!"_

Manami's fists clenched.

_"Anyone can get hurt being around the likes of you."_

Her breath hitched at that – whether it was from the shortness of breath from running or the memory of the deep-cut wounds that particular student inflicted, she couldn't pinpoint. But each inhale somehow made her feel more alive – and that was what bewildered her the most as she took each step; incomprehensible feelings beginning to overflow her.

_"Why don't you just…continue staying out of everyone's way? Don't you think maybe that way…you can keep anyone from getting hurt? Even yourself?"_

_If that's so, then… _

After that memory came back, Manami went faster; which caused the others to react and try to match with her pace as a mild confusion became evident amongst them

As each step downhill was made, the feelings that were now pulsating around her form were only strengthened.

_"What part of those faces looks disappointed? Don't think they'd given up on you."_

_"It's okay to have a mishap once in a while; because when it does happen, we'll be here to pick you up."_

_"It's just what friends do."_

_"Stop being so stupid! You're not on your own! Because from the very moment you meet someone, you're already part of their life!"_

Manami could feel her heart rate getting faster as each deep breath was inhaled. Soon enough, she started panting – her reactions were beginning to concern the others trailing behind her. However, they felt something else with the way she was acting, they just couldn't quite put their finger to it and merely followed her the quicker she got.

_I feel like my heart's about to burst. _

_What's this? It's the first time I've ever felt anything like this…_

And as the bespectacled girl nearly lost herself in the midst of handling whatever it was she was feeling, the gaze of a blond-haired girl had caught sight of what appeared to be one of the most glorious pictures her azure orbs have ever come to lay themselves upon.

With a gasp and a radiant smile, Nakamura Rio pointed up for the rest of her friends to witness the view with a yell of "Oi, look!"

Without a second of doubt, Manami's eyes looked towards the starlit sky and immediately, she was blessed with a breathtaking view. The magical glimmers of the night blue sky were sparkling in such a way she had never seen in all of her years – as if there, all her hopes and dreams lay, awaiting for her to chase after them. At the same time, she didn't know why she had this feeling, but the stars seemed so much closer to her than before; like they were smiling down upon her and lighting her way down the dark and uncertain hill. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before – it was even more awe-inspiring than all the other starlit nights she had spent with each of them. Not even the beautiful view of fireflies in Nagoya could beat what her awe-filled eyes were beholding.

In a flash, her emotions piled up one after another, as well as her memories – her failures, her accomplishments, her struggles, her despairs, and finally, each moment of happiness she had spent with them.

_"Stop looking down, and look up once in a while, hm?"_

_If that's so then…! _

And at last, with the billions of stars shining above her, Okuda Manami yelled at the top of her lungs.

Initially, many were surprised at the suddenness of her action – staring down at her with blinking eyes for they were stuck wondering what on earth had gotten into her. But none of that stopped her. At that time, she didn't care; all she did was continue to scream her heart out and let those heavy emotions release with each time she took another breath and let her delicate, underused voice resonate through the evening neighborhood.

_Those days would've meant nothing…!_

In a flash, her marvelous days with the people that she loved and held dear to her heart played like she was about to breathe her last breath in a single leap of faith. From the blissful night they celebrated her birthday, all the way to the days she and her cherished classmates called themselves the Assassination Classroom.

Heaving in a loud, deep breath, she poured all of her might into the next scream. And it was at that moment, as they remained stupefied, did they come to the realization that Okuda Manami has once again left the brilliant students of 3-E in a daze of amazement.

While the others were still left flabbergasted by this, Karma was instead struck with a stunning sight. From the way her fierce expression was as she let out each yell to the immense power of her emotions as they reached his ears – and with the way that star-adorned dome accompanied her dainty yet striving-to-be-strong form as she let her legs take her as fast as she could, the view could only get better.

What had blinked him out of this reverie was when she suddenly began laughing – it was a laughter that held nothing but innocent lightheartedness and the simple joy of being free. She spread her arms out and beamed radiantly back at the celestial glory above her with eyes full of a child's uncharted wonders.

It took a few more blinks at the unexpected action before he started laughing in the same manner; catching the others by surprise for the umpteenth time that night – looking to his direction as if he'd just lost it. Why was he laughing? He didn't grasp the answer to that quite well; but…

If anyone were to see her the way she is right now, who wouldn't have that unstoppable feeling of happiness_?_ – was what this 'supposed' callous and uncaring redheaded delinquent thought that night as he watched the wondrous show below him.

Surely, the maroon-crowned woman must've predicted that he would be preoccupied due to what she had told him. He'll never give her the applause she deserved, but because of what she did, he understood what Inari had meant earlier. Seeing that had given him the opportunity to realize that he needed to loosen up – that the thoughts constricting him earlier were not something to dwell on too much. In the end, it was the present that mattered again.

Eyes that were commonly known to contain mischief and malevolence now held tender care and gladness for her sake – but above all, because of this, somehow or other all his qualms went away as his childish, carefree side resurfaced. It was a good feeling – to be at utmost ease.

_That smiling face of yours…_

And so, whilst he took the chance to take a longer look at the kind of face he had always enjoyed seeing from her, Akabane Karma had a thought:

_I want to protect it…_

Not too long after, Rio finally joined in the fun and laughed her heart out as she ran. At last, she felt the climax she was looking for before everything they've worked for made its mark in the world tomorrow. With arms spread wide and a grin that reached ear to ear, she jumped up to release a loud yell of her very own up at that wide, almost infinite sky.

Overwhelmed with the hype the three elicited, the next to jump into this was the brunette otaku and – to the other two boys' surprise – their orange-haired sniper. Because that kind of lovely expression from Rinka was so rare, soon enough, Chiba couldn't hold in his anymore and hitched in with their childish antics. He wasn't sure if it was because it was funny to him to see his sniper partner in such a state, or if it's because it was a lovely sight, but he saw no problem at all with it. And besides, looks like he can tease her later after this and get a cute reaction from it.

At the time, Yuzuki felt the same sensations she would have whenever something as great and thrilling as what she was experiencing now only ever occurred in the manga she would read. Eyes glistening as the sensations continued to pile up, her tears of sheer joyfulness formed by the sides of her eyes. She didn't know why she did it, but she turned back to Sugino and – as if she wanted him to laugh with her – gave a sheepish yet hearty giggle.

And she was successful in getting him sucked in to this because in no time at all he was easily cheering out into the sky with the rest of them. It had been a very long time since they were able to feel this way again – this feeling of freedom from all worries and expectations out of them. Right now, they were like your everyday group of rebellious teenagers running to their heart's content without a care in the world.

Finally, as the bottom of the hill got even closer, and as each time she stepped upon the asphalt her emotions would grow stronger, she jumped up with spread arms and beamed at the billion lights shining down upon her as she poured out the last and most powerful gush of emotions that surged through her with a single exclamation.

"TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL!"

And with marvelous unity, the rest of them raised their fists to the air with a unanimous cheer of "YEAH!"

While they all released the heavy burdens each one of them held in their hearts, the brilliant, blue, starry sky that hovered above their heads continued to twinkle magically as if smiling down upon them.

* * *

…In the end they all _did _end up having to head home by themselves.

"You're not yet done?"

The lighthearted giggles of a raven-haired girl gently resounded in the quiet, nighttime of the town. The road the two took was serene – the only other sounds reaching the ear being the placid bustling leaves of the grove of trees that were lined to their left, the ruffles of plastic bags, and the steady resonances cars would make with their engines as they would occasionally pass by. No one else seemed to pass by at that hour, for the sidewalk had only two pairs of rather exhausted feet stepping upon it. Their way was lit by lampposts that helped shape the shadow of the braided poison-lover as she skipped about heartily, her redheaded friend trailing behind her as he observed such a behavior with ease.

"But it was really fun though." Manami managed to reply brightly – her back still facing the boy – yet returned to another set of giggles as she took another moment to remember the events that had just transpired.

Not just the run, but the occurrences after it as well.

_The gasps of a group of teenagers were evident in the air due to the cold – sweat drenching their foreheads and legs nearly giving up to support their own weights as they struggled to catch their breath. _

_"I don't really know what that was about but…"Yuzuki was the first to speak up between pants – her hands upon her knees while her short brown hair acted as a curtain surrounding her face "I'd love to do __that__ again sometime." She made an effort to smile before her loss of breath got the best of her again._

_"I…still can't believe that…happened though." Said Rinka in the same fashion as the other girl – still not being able to get over the fact that she had been sucked in to the spree with a literal push from an adult she honestly thought she could look up to. Shameful as it was though, she didn't hide the grin that had formed on her usually stoic face._

_Sugino followed this with the statement "I'm just glad I'm alive…" – with complete knowledge that what they had done right now was dangerous and could have killed them. In contrast to this, he found Inari still atop the high hill giving them what looked to be a thumbs-up for a job well done. He could only sweatdrop at her 'responsibility' as an adult._

_"But…that was fun…" Rio, between pants, had summarized everyone's thoughts – with an expression that indicated she was more than satisfied with tonight's events. In no time at all, everyone mirrored the same type of smile and couldn't help but agree. _

_"Well," Karma was the first to be able to catch his breath and stand up straight; letting his mercury orbs travel to some of the nearby houses. "We must've woken up the neighborhood…"he said this without any presence of guilt in his voice as he smirked at the faint and incomprehensible complaints coming from the disturbed homes – clearly amused._

_"Seems like it…" Chiba was the next to catch his breath after he took notice at what his infamous friend was taking joy in listening to – and sweatdropped at both that and his behavior._

_Meanwhile, the first victim of the incident was still in the midst of trying to regain her own breath – panting harder than the rest of them as she sunk more onto her knees. The plastic bag that held her costume for tomorrow (which thankfully had not lost any of its contents during the run) seemed to had fallen in front of her while she desperately gasped for air. _

_"Oi, are you okay?" Despite the slight concern the others had for her, Karma didn't stop himself from uttering that statement with a tad of a tease to it – that was because __**she **__started it anyway (Even though this was mainly her caretaker's fault). Even still, to suddenly yell out like that in the middle of running down a hill, of course she'd be this worn out._

_Manami was far from regaining her composure as she gasped between her words "Just a…mom…en…" _

_Eventually, her knees gave out and her petite form fell onto the asphalt – heck, she even had to support herself with both hands upon the ground. At this sight, Rio, whom was closest to her, chuckled lightly having caught her breath and approached the exhausted girl. Crouching down in front of her to help her up, she gave a lighthearted smile in a cheeky big-sister like manner "C'mon, c'mon~ Need a—"_

_ "__**Don't touch me.**__"_

_A toneless, yet deadly and frightening tone of voice had abrupt the scene and grabbed everyone's attention – causing a brief confusion to grow amongst them._

_"Where'd that come from?" Yuzuki turned her head to each side in harmless search for where the voice had come from along with Chiba who did the same behind her – both were genuinely curious instead of actually startled by the voice as if it were just some normal happening. Although, it wasn't until the brunette took notice of Sugino and Rinka blinking in shock towards their blonde and braided friend did she start to grasp things; for over at their direction, blue eyes were wide and taken aback as they etched themselves on the shorter girl, unable to move away. _

_"Heh?" was the only thing that escaped Rio's lips as her mouth involuntarily twitched up from the jitters that crawled up her spine upon the disbelief of such a remark actually coming from—_

_"__**I said get your hands off me.**_"_ Right then, _t_errifying, glossless, indigo orbs met with shocked and uncertain blue ones._

_. . ._

_"__**EHH?!"**__ just as the unanimous exclamation of five of the combat club members echoed through the already disturbed fraction of the town, the golden-haired girl jerked away from Manami – whom now emanated with a bone-chilling aura and instantly became their source of fear._

_IS SHE POSSESSED NOW OR SOMETHING? – was along the lines of what the former assassins thought as the rest jerked away in fright and disbelief (little did they know Karma was just standing behind all of them looking as nonchalant as ever)._

_"M-Manami-chan?!" the agitated blonde managed to stutter out as she struggled to her feet – but failed as soon as she did and fell back on the road as she watched the other slowly – eerily get up herself "Wh-what's gotten into you all of a sudden?!" _

_" 'What', huh?" the voice that had reached their ears was not one that was familiar to them – it was far from the regular polite tone that they would hear everyday from her. This one was evil, and it carried a demonic ring to it that could alarm anyone who listened to it. Upon hearing it once more, Rio nearly choked on a gasp; back straightening, she was hopelessly immobilized. It may not have been the scariest thing, but experiencing firsthand was a different scenario._

_Behind the scene, Yuzuki had impulsively held onto her pigtailed friend out of anxiety – which disturbed the orange-haired girl more than the current happenings as she attempted to shake her off. However, both emerald and pink orbs had not turned away from the two as chills occasionally travelled up their spines and raise the hairs on their head. Close by, Chiba and Sugino continued to watch the scene in incredulity after having backed up a safe distance – their bodies still frozen in the position from when they jerked away. _

_Is this really Okuda Manami?!_

_"__**Nakamura**__…" After 'Manami' had gotten to her feet in such a way that was similar to those 'The Grudge' movies, she wasted no time in tilting her head towards her target (Rio) in a rather ominous manner before stepping closer to her – resultantly, the blonde flinched back; surprising herself in the process for she was not the type to be intimidated by __**anyone.**_

_The girl didn't even make an effort to try and hide her fear like she usually did; this entire scene was all too unexpected for their introverted friend to the point that it made it difficult for her to process things. Add the fact that she was currently peering down at her as if she had the capacity to crush her very soul into ashes, Nakamura Rio was __**scared**__ – with a stomach-churning sensation that washed over her due to the feeling that she may have done an extra-mortal sin that caused her to deserve this. _

_"__**Do you…really want to know?**__" she squint her eyes menacingly; her right hand's fingers were dug into her rather messy hair which partially blocked the wicked glint the moonlight gave her eyeglasses. Lavender orbs that were always so full of cheer and kindness, were now only clouded with a deathly, dark aura that made them almost look void – how she was able to do that, the blonde will never know – that aside, she looked more than ready to murder her. _

_ "__**It's all your fault, you know…**__" the ghastly girl inched closer and closer to her – only as the proximity between them increased, a disturbing grin one would often compare to the Cheshire cat's would only stretch wider underneath the dark shadow her hair gave effect to. _

_"E-E-Eeeeeehhh?!"_

_On the other hand, whilst their infamous blonde friend could only become more terrified, the rest of the teenager's fear had dissipated. Yuzuki still held on to her sniper friend, only this time both were watching things unfold with question – rather nonplussed by the way their friend was reacting to this. _

_'What the heck?' – would be the perfect statement to describe how the two girls felt right now._

_It appears this was the same for the two others that shared the same bewilderment – having realized how strange the scene actually was. The only exception was their sadistic club president who even took the time to record the entire thing on his phone – typical Karma._

_"__**All of my suffering is your fault…**__"_

_ "W-W-What…do you—!"And that was when she remembered:_

_Her individual session with her. _

_Rio gulped out of guilt and attempted to reason out with the witch that glared down at her as if she were livestock for breakfast – about to be cut into pieces "L-Look M-Manami-chan! Ab-About that time I made you—!"_

_"__**That's because…**__" in a swift movement, the blonde's source of terror had trapped her by leaning down and becoming much too close for comfort – meaning those deathly eyes of hers were but inches away, which resultantly had her hold her breath and freeze in place; shoulders and legs shivering involuntarily while horror absolutely consumed her._

_"__**You're HiDEouS.**__" At that moment, Rio thought that if she were given the choice whether to die or face this, she'd take no hesitation in choosing the former – for surely it would be levels better than having her soul pierced by this science freak's current expression. She knew full well what it was; it was bloodlust – the assassination classroom's trump card. It was severely underused, but that's what made it all the more deadly. Everything she was doing was like a chemical mixture of insta-kill. _

_Blue eyes snapped shut after a small squeal – bracing herself for her fated end. _

_'Plick'_

_"Heh?" _

_Opening her eyes once due to the impact that never came, the tension in her body disappeared when she was first met with a small twig that the girl in front of her must've taken from her disheveled hair. _

_"There, Rio-chan's pretty again." Manami stood up straight, threw the twig away and displayed a bright smile – the atmosphere that had enveloped her just earlier had vanished without trace. While Rio remained frozen on the road with her mouth agape, being smiled down upon by the girl that she honestly thought was about to punish her for her 'wrongdoings' to her (although she was sure it would happen somehow or other if that day's events were to go out to anyone other than the two of them), she had to take a moment to collect her bearings. _

_She attempted to speak, but failed as her brows only twitched from how unbelievable the entire thing just was – not only Manami's successful act, but at herself for being swayed by such. She was Nakamura Rio; one of the notable geniuses of the Assassination Classroom and Kunugigaoka itself, and she had just put on a pathetic display of fear over a 'harmless' girl's __**act**__. _

_Expression shifting from shock, to awe, to disbelief and to self-disappointment, she quickly tried to mask it with anger. Jolting to her feet with a vein popping on her head, she was more than ready to clobber the girl "YOU LITTLE—!"_

_"DON'T RUN FROM ME!"_

_Even when she started chasing her, Manami couldn't help but laugh at her friend's reaction –and the fact she was proud of herself for actually being able to scare __**her**__ of all people._

_"I RAN REAL HARD YOU KNOW?! IF I'M TIRED FOR TOMORROW IT'S YOUR FAULT!_

_I'M GONNA GET BACK AT YOU ONE DAY!" _

_Rio's anger was short-lived however, for in the midst of her pursuit she herself had begun to laugh heartily._

_The rest of the students who watched them couldn't believe it themselves; because for a moment there, most were also outright afraid of the – supposedly – shy introvert. As students who have faced death several times before, of course this would take them aback. But as they pondered on whether or not they should be impressed or appalled by her actions, they can all agree on one thing: she is definitely more than ready to claim their victory in tomorrow's School Festival._

_Recovering their composure, it only took a second after they exchanged looks for them to burst out laughing – except the one and only Karma whom only had a satisfied smile as he finished recording. By the time this had happened, Rio had eventually caught up with the small girl and stretched her cheeks mercilessly as she said quite darkly – a sadistic grin that harmonized well with the irksomeness in her eyes_

_"You did well to fool me but you're still gonna pay~" – but even if she said that, she had to admit it was fun._

_In this note, they parted ways eventually._

"How was it?"

Karma had to step back a bit at her abrupt lean forward – her eyes showing a genuine anticipation for his answer as they glistened beneath the nearest lamppost. She even had to tiptoe a tad so that she can somehow be in level with his face as her hands held the plastic bag behind her back. Slightly taken aback by the movement, he took a moment to respond to her question and let his eyes travel to the side.

"Not bad I suppose, but I didn't buy your act one bit." His expression shifted from contemplative to smug at the last bit of his statement as he leaned forward, having Manami fall back on her heels.

"You didn't?" braids ruffled at the tilt of her head when she inquired – a little let-down yet honestly nowhere near surprised.

Since their proximity was still a little too much for the tall boy, he smoothly put his finger on her forehead and pushed her gently – smirking at the adorable scrunch of her face when she stepped back "It'll take a lot more than that to intimidate me."

Manami held the area on her forehead with a pout, but in no time smiled back at him anyway "I know…"

_It'll take more time for me to get to know Karma-kun, after all…_

As she thought this, she transferred to his side and proceeded to walk with him.

_Including his weaknesses…_ \- at this, she let the memory of her post-birthday celebration resurface; it was the time she witnessed something new that was found in those often inscrutable mercury eyes as its owner shared with her his views on his family. With her gaze shifted to her feet, she let a thoughtful smile grace her features as she looked back at it.

"But, it'll pass." Observing that she had gone silent, Karma decided he should at least give her a bit of praise on that. He _should_ at least encourage her – even he had to be impressed.

"Really?"

"I never flatter~"

The dark-haired girl spared a moment to blink at his words while they walked – she appeared to be taking them into careful contemplation; to which, in turn, had her companion look at her with a raised eyebrow until she laughed lightly with a remark of "Of course you don't." afterwards.

Another brief and comfortable quietude shrouded the two as they crossed a short bridge – it stretched over a shallow gap in which one would find a few watercourses travel across the rock-strewn trail that must've been the result of run-off from the nearby river; an indication that they were nearing their desired destination.

In no time at all, Manami emitted yet another gentle chuckle. "But that was really fun, wasn't it? Running like that…" she turned to stare above her where the stars she oh so admired just earlier still twinkled in their humble glory – the fresh memory reminded her heart of the wonders she'd felt as well as the realizations she'd come to at the time.

"My heart was pounding really hard." She placed a weakly curled fist above her chest where she could still feel the sensation and lowered her chin close to it "It was…a really wonderful feeling." Gratified lavender orbs shut peacefully after that for she could not find any other words to describe the experience.

Karma smiled at this; and though he got the sense she was talking to no one in particular, he also ended up recalling it, but he mostly found himself bringing to mind her running form. From her expressions as she ran to the sound of her laughter – all harmoniously accompanied by one of the (admittedly) most beautiful skies he'd seen in his lifetime.

"Uh-huh…" he commented, smiling contentedly whilst inserting his hands into his pockets in the cool-like fashion he always did. Although he's never going to admit it to her, his mood sure was lifted by what Inari did. But even still, he decides that at most he can give her 4 claps in applause mentally.

"It would be nice if things continued on this way…" Manami appeared to have uttered out her thoughts without thinking. She had her distant gaze turned to the sky – her pace slowing down somewhat as she relished in the thought of such a wish.

Unfortunately, his mood had once again been slightly ebbed by her remark; having him stop in his tracks while the other continued on unconsciously.

_"I want things to be this way all the time. It's an impossible dream, but if I can hope for anything…it would be to be this happy with all of you as much as we can." _If he remembered correctly, that memory just now was her birthday wish.

With that reemerging from the pool of his memories, more thoughts had come back as he proceeded to walk again – just so his companion wouldn't notice his preoccupation.

_"Just help me keep it that way…"– _that's, in one way or another, granting her wish…but at this rate…

_"I've always been thinking of the best way to tell her. I don't want to just slam it into her face all of a sudden. But now that I've seen how happy she's been lately…"_

Things will be getting a lot harder.

"Oh…" the stopping of Manami's steps and the fade in of a bright, yellow light from his right was enough to interrupt him from his thought process. Lifting up his head a tad, he was met with colors of red, green and orange – the regular colors he'd usually see in-

"It's the convenience store." Her voice was a bit subdued, although loud enough for him to hear the sense of observation laced in her tone. She stared at it uncomprehendingly for quite a long time – which had given him the chance to discern more characteristics of the late-night shop. Though the place was bright and seemingly a cozy place for customers, there were barely any people inside.

In the same time he'd concluded there was nothing particularly odd about the store, he smiled after having the gist of what the girl may have been eager to have.

"…Want one?"

* * *

"It feels like…it's been a long time since we've had this…"

"That so?"

The two of them settled on a nearby bench just outside of the store – something they had not done since the spring of their first few encounters. Each had a juicebox of their favorite flavor held in their hand and made themselves comfortable in the tranquility of the rather late hour – from the noiseless and few amount of people to the simple relaxation both were accustomed to in each other's company.

"Mm. I think the last time was back in summer…" Manami reminisced the last time she'd been alone to have juice with him while she took a sip on her current one – she chose grape again. It was the usual flavor she always bought; but having not had it for quite some time, the taste brought some nostalgia to her.

"Really? That does feel like a long time ago." Karma released the straw from his strawberry juice box to face up to the sky, his expression remained indifferent, though his tone did contain a hint of genuine startle when he reviewed how long it had been. Well, it wasn't all that long, it was just a season ago – but after all that's happened since then along with his own focus on the cultural festival during most days, he felt as if the last time they had this was over a quarter ago.

"Mhm…" hearing her soft and bland reply got his attention, so in almost an instant, he responded to this – turning his head her way.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Not…really…" she answered lowly once more, only this time her tone of voice was laced with a little bit of vexation. Observing that she'd lowered her head with a disconcerted gaze upon the cold drink curled around her stiff fingers, the boy's sharp senses caught on with what she was feeling.

"…Are you nervous for tomorrow?"

This statement was followed by a pause from her – which was all he needed to answer his question. Afterwards, a small, diffident smile showed on Manami's face as she confirmed it "…As always, Karma-kun reads me so easily."

Karma shrugged with a pleased smile and leaned back on his seat "It'd be surprising if you weren't."

"That…may be so…" she answered a little halfheartedly – distress still evident in her expression before it leaned onto more of fretfulness. "But earlier I got to – I got to do it earlier…Then just a few minutes after I'm this nervous…" her shoulders stiffened from her own agitation as she had begun to sound hopelessly troubled ; her feet had even gone to their tiptoes as they were rubbed on the cement.

Albeit her clear vexation, the infamous genius trickster next to her couldn't keep from snickering in amusement "That's normal isn't it? Tomorrow's your first big performance, after all – so it's to be expected." He rested his elbow on his lap just so he could cup his own cheek with his palm and display her an encouraging grin "What you did back there with Nakamura was probably in the spur of the moment, but that's the reason you pulled it off."

Feeling slightly better due to this, Manami's former distraught quickly shifted into understanding as she nodded her head "Chiba-kun did say that because I was so conscious of leaving a great impression I tended to falter a lot; and that the feeling will only get worse when the day itself arrives…" there was a slight contortion apparent on her face at the last half of her sentence, but she quickly shook this away and furrowed her brows in consideration.

"I guess it's because I don't want everyone's hard work to go be in vain."

"Don't worry about it." Karma's voice held nothing but support, with every underlying intention to ease the usually unconfident introvert – very uncommon of the sadistic prankster he is, but he always considered the dainty, science-lover right next to him an exception. Besides, he knew she needed something like this, so to do so would only be appropriate.

"You should know that everyone is probably just as nervous as you are right now – they all want to make the most out of it, not just for the club, but for themselves too. Try to let that ease your worries."

"Ah—I almost forgot it was about that." When he spoke of 'club', Manami cried out honestly; her body straightening up from the sudden reminder of such a thing. Even though that fact could be considered as something to be more nervous for, the devilish boy smiled – entertained by her reaction.

"In any case," he proceeded to hearten the girl more as he sat back in his seat properly – throwing her a grin "Try taking this opportunity to get as nervous as you can for tonight."

"As nervous as I can?" quizzical eyes blinked behind glasses that glossed against the moonlight in her movement.

Karma nodded after finishing up his juice box and kept an uplifting grin on "Yep."

In the middle of his sentence, he took the liberty of enjoying himself by playing with the straw – moving it side to side and in a circular motion with his thumb and index finger "Tomorrow, you'll have lots of people cheering you on – that includes Isura-senpai, Mikagura-sensei, and of course, Inari-sensei. With that, you can try your best to be nervous tonight so tomorrow you wouldn't have to worry about the feeling."

Manami had perked up at the mention of the redheaded woman as he carried on – but such did not go unnoticed. To address this, he stopped for a moment to blink about twice before relaxing into a half-lidded stare "What's up?"

"Nothing…" she knew he saw through that blatant lie – who wouldn't? The concerned manner she said it already gave away that it was far from 'nothing'. Not meeting the gaze she knew he held which said 'It's futile to lie', she sighed in defeat – she was never good at these things. "It's just that lately, I find myself thinking about what happened to Inari –nee a lot…"

Just when he actually – for a moment there – forgot all about that, of course it had to be brought up to remind him. Albeit his ulterior doubts and displeasure towards the topic of discussion, he went with the flow; his mood becoming serious as he tried to remain thoughtful to what she wanted to say. Pale gold eyes fell onto a bush close-by in his turn away from her "…The one about you feeling connected to how her old life used to be?"

"Mm." She only nodded – lowering the juice box she had in both hands from near her chin to her lap. "I've never questioned it before, but I've been getting more curious about it… It started happening back in summer – when that man suddenly called me 'Hanako'.

Gentle and delicate fingers intertwined – sandwiching the braided girl's grape juice "Ever since then, I couldn't completely get my mind off it. What happened to make things the way they are now…what kind of life Inari-nee lived…why I was given to her in the first place…" _why those people knew who my mom was…and why I never knew them…_

Realizing she was beginning to get lost in her thoughts, she shook her head "But even though it's never left my mind, I barely ask her about it since she never really likes to talk about it – I wouldn't want to add up to her stress. But…whenever I do…" Manami unconsciously lowered her chin so much her hair served as a curtain that veiled a heavily unsettled and unsure pair of lavender.

Expressionless, mercury eyes moved to the corner so that he may catch sight of the girl in distraught from there, and, almost immediately, he felt a bad taste in his mouth – because that's not nice to see at all, even for a sadist like him.

However, even so, he only listened.

"I want to know…at least…so I can help her…" her feeble voice continued, and only seemed to lower in volume just as her head did the same thing. Manami now had her elbows propped near her knees – all her quandaries from earlier had completely gone from her performance tomorrow to the past she'd been trying to figure out for months now.

Just as silence was beginning to befall upon them, adroit as he was, the red-haired boy's ears did not fail to receive the unobtrusive, poignant mumble that had come from her. He found her face no longer cloaked by her hair – however, being met with the sight of a brittle smile accompanied by her somber eyes, the words that came out weren't the only thing dismal about it.

"…I wonder if I did something terrible…"

_"She'll think that it was all her fault that I had to give up on a lot of things…"_

"You know…" Thinking quickly, Karma tried whatever could to avert from the topic as smoothly as possible "You have a bad habit of thinking you're at fault for many things." He decides he'd say that instead – which is by all means true. He knew he needed to get the topic out of the way; not just to fulfill Inari's favor, but for the sake of Cultural festival.

Those two factors, and…

_Don't make that face_

"Try not to think about it too much, otherwise your imagination might run wild and create thoughts that shouldn't mean anything." _I never like it when you do._

"I…" Manami tilted her head– blinking her eyes up at him as she carefully attempted to understand his words. Not too long after, she sat up properly once more and got ready to finish her drink "Guess so…" – she didn't sound too convinced, but nonetheless, he was successful in getting her out of her small trance since she shook her head vigorously thereafter.

"Sorry – I should stop talking about this already." Her attempt to pull herself together was to hastily finish her drink – sipping the remains of it with a little too much force that had her end up clearing her throat after. Karma smiled at such briefly, seizing the opportunity to say "Right now, you have to concentrate on the cultural festival. Don't let those uncertainties keep you from doing you can do tomorrow. After that, you can think about other things."

_"I've always been thinking of the best way to tell her. I don't want to just slam it into her face all of a sudden. But now that I've seen how happy she's been lately…"_ – hah, apparently, he now shares the same type of uncertainty. He can't pinpoint what his exact feelings are towards his new 'responsibility', but if anything, he thought it best to take his own advice and probably waste his time to think about this after the cultural festival – or when it actually started to matter.

"You're right, I guess…" he noticed there was a significant lack of spirit due to the volume of her tone of voice diminishing as she finished the sentence – but, seeming like she had caught on with his 'intent', she decided to snap herself out of her insecurities and let stretch a bright beam on her face "Alright! I'll do just that."

Relieved by this, he made use of his talent with the art of changing the subject "Well then, shouldn't you be busy getting nervous?"

"Ah! Right."

* * *

_A while later…_

The path the two had taken was different from the one they would regularly pass through since they were able to discover a different route wherein they may part ways. It wasn't a wonder why they hadn't found it until now – the area had been slightly hidden by trees due to the road being next to a train rail; blocked with a white fence that took on a little bit of blue under the sky's night hue.

"Say …I've been thinking…" Just as they were about to part ways, Manami spoke all of a sudden.

Karma had to look back to realize that his friend had stopped halted in her steps behind him – and for quite some time too, for there was about 3-4 meters of distance between the two of them. Taking notice of how she had her gaze to the near ground as if it were the most interesting thing once again that night, he wasted no time in acknowledging whatever she had to say by turning his heel. He didn't say anything however; all he did was look at her expectantly. Unlike the other times tonight she looked in doubt, this once had a rather different atmosphere to it – something what he would call a little pleasant, this time.

"After the cultural fest…will things go back to the way they were?" raising her head and tilting it to her left, her expression was graced with a timid smile – one that explained what concerns she held regarding that statement.

The redhead only laughed at such a silly worry when he got an understanding of what she meant – by 'back to the way they were', she must mean that the days wouldn't be quite as eventful or memorable as they are now.

Answering honestly, he laxly rested his hand in his pocket with a grin "There's no way that would happen. With our classmates? You can dream." – he addressed them as 'classmates', for he considered everyone in his former class under the same light. There's no way they'd ever settle for an 'ordinary everyday life' just as much as he did, even in their now mundane lifestyles. When he _would_ address his current class, he'd refer to them as '1-B' only.

Manami had to stare at him for a second before returning an appreciative beam – he always had one way or another to bring her relief. "You're right."

As if she'd been called, her purple eyes were yet again etched onto the vast dome of twinkling lights which reflected upon her glasses almost admirably. Resultantly, her expression softened, but the smile remained, this time having more meaning to it.

"This year…I've been blessed with a lot of things, haven't I?"

Situating her gently curled hand near her forehead as if stargazing, the frail girl spoke with a tone not feigning tenderness "The day I was born was, for the first time, celebrated with the people I cared about deeply…I was able to try new things in summer…And even if it took time, I was able to get along with my classmates… Rio-chan, Yuzuki-chan, Sugino-kun, and even Chiba-kun and Rinka-san…and of course, Karma-kun…I was able to meet all of you again this year…"

Manami retracted her hand and let it rest to her side in her pause – affectionate eyes meeting her tall friend's blank ones again as she proclaimed to him-

"You know…I really love our club."

She said it with a calm voice, but the meaning and feelings she held in her words were powerful and absolutely genuine – almost to the point that it would overwhelm someone. Not tearing away from his outwardly empty expression (she knew he was simply listening to her, and was thankful for that), she continued "So much, that no matter what I don't want to lose it; so… I didn't get to say this earlier, but…"

Taking a deep breath which inevitably had her break eye contact with him for a second, she collected her willpower and determination so that she may meet with his gaze one, this time with firm resolve present as her glasses somehow seemed to shine to add effect when she moved.

"I'll make sure to do my very, very best tomorrow. And—I'll make sure that I make it count until the very end." She almost hastily added the last bit – knowing that she had faltered countless times in her last lines due to being overly conscious about making it impactful. "I know I'm carrying the burden of everyone's hopes, so I don't want to disappoint anyone." if she could put any more seriousness and resolution to her fixed stare, she had done so – she was looking into the eyes of the one she would not want to disappoint out of all of them. The one who had gotten her this far, and the one who, most of all, helped her get back up to her feet and find strength.

"So…I'll make it the greatest performance ever."

At that moment, it felt as if all the nervousness she had from earlier had vanquished – but rather than remaining too quiet after she said such prominent words with clear steadfastness, Karma answered her sooner than she'd expected – seemingly unfazed as he merely threw her a knowing smile.

_'I – Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best."_

"I already know you will."

Manami, taken aback by this response, (she expected something more on the lines of 'I'm looking forward to it' like he usually did) took a second to blink as her shoulders tensed just a tiny, almost imaginary bit "You have that much confidence in me?"

"This isn't the first time you told me that." He but rose an eyebrow at her slyly, smirking at her reaction "Besides, like everyone said, you're no longer the same person I met in the beginning of the year. So there's no reason for even me to have to doubt you." He shrugged in an indifferent fashion at those last words, but he really did mean what he said to her.

"That's…" unexpected as it was for her, the introverted science geek found it hard to find her words and put two and two together– he said himself he never flattered anyone, but she was still in the midst of processing if what she was hearing was what she thought he meant. Seeing this response from her, the mercury-eyed boy chose to proceed, putting on a lazy smile befitting of his trickster behavior – but even with that on, not a single shred of a lie was present when he shifted his stare to something else and said-

"Even if you're clumsy, shy, a crybaby, hopelessly accident prone and terrible with people," _Ouch_ – Manami then realized what he meant by how he never flattered; as a result her head slumped down a little hopelessly.

"You were always determined to reach them."

_Badump_

Now that's what caught her attention. Slowly, she let her now wide, purple eyes directly meet a pair of, now, authentically warm ones that smiled the same way – one of the rarest occurrences that would only ever happen once in once in a blue moon, and he's openly showing it to _her_. Though, albeit that description, this was not the first time she'd seen such. Still, whenever she did, it never ceased to absorb her.

"And you always did. That's how you were able to become so strong. So I can bet on almost everything I have that…" And with that, a knowing, yet sincere smile stretched upon his countenance "If it's you, you can do it."

She badly wanted to reply, but failed to find any words – there was only silence from her end as a dumbfounded expression kept plastered on her face.

A witty smirk spread across his face when he observed this – slowly reverting to his blithe demeanor "If you're that determined, then you don't have to worry about disappointing anyone." With that remark said in a relatively unserious tone – one that sounded as if he found it a drag stating the obvious – he stepped to the side so his back was now facing her. Karma himself admits that this isn't a thing you'd find him doing on a regular basis (truthfully, he found it a little embarrassing and much too maudlin for him), but he went on. Not just to pep talk her, but this was something he may have felt the need to tell her at the time. And he'll let it pass for now, this is the girl he fell in love with, after all.

With his back turned to her direction, it took him just a short while until he at last said "That's because, for every time you were, 'This person is really amazing, isn't she?' – is what I'd often catch myself thinking about."

A long silence passed, providing the boy with the time to comment to himself _'I said it…'_

In the duration of that silence, Karma was not able to witness the overwhelmed expression the chemistry-lover in disbelief had all over her features. Sure, she was well aware how much her clubmates believed in her – and she was more than ready to try to live up to their expectations. She knew well that, after the numerous times they've told her, that she was someone they all cared about. The words he sent to her with the utmost earnestness to cheer her up wasn't the only thing that touched her heart, neither was it only the fact that he was actually _revealing_ yet another side of him that he wouldn't show to just anyone, but…

_The Karma-kun I thought was so far away...whose talent I can never come close to…thinks I'm… _

As if on cue – whilst his last words continued to echo inside her mind – the evening train, along with its bright lights, passed them by.

_Badump Badump Badump Badump_

Manami could only stand there, frozen in spot as the rhythm of her heart seemed to match with the noises the train brought with it. The shining, yellow lights reflected on her skin as it rapidly strobed across both of the teenager's forms as its speed let their hair fly ever so roughly and into the cold, autumn night's wind.

For moments, the only resonation that filled their ears belonged to that of the train. Since her silence had begun to concern him, the red-haired teenager chose to turn around – only for his eyes to widen a bit at what had come to view.

Flying into the air with her braids, he watched as a tear had come from her still fairly wide-eyed expression. He didn't even get the chance to put much thought into that reaction, for not long after, more droplets of water followed and drifted off with the wind due to the train's speed – her features remaining unchanged. However, even with her glasses beginning to mist due to her eyes brimming with tears, he did nothing but stare at her blankly.

That was until, all of a sudden, a beautiful, warmhearted beam graced her tearful face – her violet orbs containing a certain amount of affection that glinted perfectly with the yellow lights that passed as he spotted the movement of her lips. Unfortunately, whatever it was she said wasn't able to reach Karma's ears for the train's noises had become much too loud. Consequently, he kept his eyes on her, covertly anticipating that she would tell him as he blinked a bit in quizzicality.

It may have been a miraculous coincidence, but simultaneously with the last tear that left her eye, the night train had fully departed – leaving the both of them in, yet another, brief stillness.

"I think…I understand now…"It wasn't until Manami's hair had elegantly fallen back to her shoulders did she break it with a mumble she did not entirely wish for him to hear – but he did this time.

"Hm?" he hummed it with a tone of question, but his countenance remained blank and inscrutable as he eyed her somewhat astonished look in mild confusion.

"N-Nothing…" she blinked about three times before lowering her head to hide a small blush that formed "I just realized that…I may love our classmates more than I thought…" – her voice trembled a little, but she was able to catch herself before her flush became much too obvious.

"I…"

_Badump_

With a small amount of courage gathered, she lifted her chin ever so gradually and met with the redhead's gaze – staring into those mercury orbs with her glistening purple ones as they now held great realization. And, with one last tiny smile as she looked at him, she finished

"…love them."

And it was in that moment did the small girl begin to realize the feelings she'd had trouble dealing with for the past few days. Ever since the beginning, she had always viewed the boy as someone she can never match up to; someone that was way too above her, someone that had his own world – someone who was _far._

But it's no longer that way. Around him, she felt relieved, capable, and worth more than she ever thought she was. By his side, she felt contented, secured, and sometimes, even _special._ For that, she loved being with him – she can never feel any more grateful. But she understands now that it's no longer gratefulness. It's something else entirely; and maybe that something else isn't something she completely understood. However…

_"I'm glad…that I reached you."_ Those were the words that Akabane Karma missed. Within this, Manami had finally begun to sort out what her feelings may have been.

In the meantime, for a second there, Karma had a gut feeling that she was implying something – but that feeling had dissipated quickly when he quickly dismissed that possibility as something way too unlikely. With a shrug, he accepted her words without trouble and laxly rested both of his hands into his pockets – turning a heel as he prepared to take his leave "I see. Then, I'm sure you'll have no problem doing your best tomorrow."

Without looking back, he waved goodbye "Good night, Manami."

And there it was again – the first indication that he had become so close that she wasn't ready for it. But not letting that thought distract her too much, she waved back – even though he wouldn't see it

"Good night…Karma-kun."

She smiled as she watched his departing form, more than eager to see him again tomorrow. Feeling the slow and powerful beats coming from her chest, as well as realizing that she had at some point held her breath, she placed a hand over her heart in an attempt to calm it and breathed in and out.

_This is strange…_ \- the feeling was so entirely new to her that she didn't even know if what was happening to her was normal. But…

_"All you can do…Is wait for your own feelings to become clear to you."_

Regaining her composure somehow, she walked to the nearest route to her right where she knew was quite opposite to where her companion may have lived.

_So this is what it means to…_

She doesn't know why, but she had looked back at a certain memory a little earlier in the year:

**_"Fu-Fuwa-san! Keep it together! I-I'm sure Sugino-kun sees you as a very good friend!" Manami cheered for her with worry all over her features when she saw this type of reaction. 'Liking someone must be a mysterious wreck of emotions…' she observed this from her friend who now had some comical tears flowing out after she tried to encourage her._**

**_"O-Okuda-san…you don't say that to anyone in a situation like this…" her blond friend sweatdropped after her exclamation for a while._**

_Like someone, huh?_

* * *

**...PHEW. I HOPE THAT DID WELL. (Even though I know myself that this is a chapter I winged...) This chapter was honestly supposed to end with a different scene...but that would've made the chapter much too long already (*cough* likeChapter13*cough*)**

**Alright readers, I won't say anything more about what I think about the chapter and let you guys decide how it is ^W^ **

**Is it good? Is it bad? LEAVE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKED, DISLIKED OR SIMPLY COMMENT ON ANYTHING YOU WANNA COMMENT ON! I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT ^W^**

**Alright, now for that letter I mentioned in the beginning:**

**I'll cut to the chase, THANK YOU DEAR READERS FOR STICKING WITH THIS STORY NO MATTER HOW SLOW I UPDATED WHEN MY SCHOOL STARTED! **

**When I started back in May, I didn't think the fanfic would get so much attention due to it being an unpopular ship and just a romance story made on a whim (TO APPEASE SHIPPER HEARTS HAHA) but seeing it as the most reviewed Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Fanfic still never ceases to amaze me. And it's all thanks to you guys ;;w;;**

**I'm thankful for all of your comments and for the continuous support you give me that motivates me to write in the best quality I could give and as soon as I could. As promised, I will see this story through the end as much as possible. I pray that my pacing would be adequate enough for it considering I'm entering my last year of high school after this year's summer. (AHHH! COLLEGE!)**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you! **

**FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART I THANK ALL OF YOU! **

**THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL YEAR! I LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER ONE WITH YOU GUYS! HAPPY 2016 AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO KEEP CLOSE TO YOUR HEART WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU! NEVER LET THE NEGATIVITY OF THE WORLD GET INSIDE TO YOU, OR ELSE, SIMILAR TO A SHIP THAT HAS WATER SEEP IN, YOU WILL SINK.  
**

**#WordsofWisdom2016**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! **

**Lots of love,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	23. Chapter 23

**HELLO HELLO HAPPY SUMMER! (For me, that is 83)**

**I AM BACK BABY! To regular updates I mean XD BUT ISN'T THAT GOOD NEWS? 8DD**

**First of all THANK YOU ALL FOR STILL FOLLOWING AND SUPPORTING MY STORY! I LOVE YOU ALL AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!**

**Alright let's get down to business (to defeat the huns). **

**I really should have divided the cultural festival arc to two names but whatever. I'll name the first few chapters before this the preparation arc with this being the fiesta arc ;D**

**I originally wanted to bring the full chapter to you, but that would be smashing it all together too much in my opinion, so, sad to say, it's just another prologue for the festival arc ;;w;; (BOO)**

**I KNOW I KNOW I OWE YOU GUYS TOO MUCH. But hey now that I'm free from the chains of school in the dungeon of education, I can post more frequently now! So maybe next chapter will be in a day or two. You never know ;D**

**This chapter is pretty short compared to what I normally do - but it's a prologue anyway. Also I would like to warn you, I did feel very rusty with my writing while writing this since it's been quite a while. So if it's quality is so much less than the other chapters, please understand TT-TT**

**OKay enough of that I will answer the reviews of the previous chapter:**

**animeandmangafangirl: HAHA XD Well count me in that club too I mean it's been more than a year since I started shipping this and it's still going strong X'3 Thanks for the compliment and YOU WILL SEE IF HE DID 8D**

**IHaveNoName and IDC: Grade 6 palang eh nasa internet na XD Good luck when you enter high school! I MEAN IT. Oh and thank you for the cookies! ^W^ Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**Tofu-kun: GLAD TO BE BACK~**

**Sweet-Devilish-Angel: Beh, okay ka lang? XD But thank you very much for all your compliments and thank you for telling me that you like this story! It really makes me feel glad that it's appreciated since I put effort into it! I hope my chapter doesn't disappoint even though it's a prologue ;;w;; **

**I12BFree: Wish granted~**

**Shiro46Kuro96: Thank you Reader-sama! ^W^**

** : Thank you very much po! **

**Title Unwanted: THANK YOU AS WELL for not giving up on the story! Another thank you for your kind words and I will do my bets in this story! And I think the reason my school ended here is because we both start school on different months owo. I'm gonna start again this June ;D**

**electricangel12: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad I was able to give that impression and execute it nicely! (according to you ;D) I'm VERY sorry for the OOCness of the characters in some of the chapters (and here also, if ever) And yep! After watching that anime I wondered how that kind of romance would go between my new OTP at the time - with less misunderstandings of course XD Thanks again and I hope you enjoy reading!**

**ALRIGHT LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD**

**By the way, a little note: If you have internet to read this fanfic, then you most probably have the internet to look up the Japanese terms I used in this chapter. If not then well, there's a convenient glossary down below 8D.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. If I did, well then...this wouldn't exist now, would it?**

* * *

**Chapter 23: What You Are to Me (FIESTA ARC! [PROLOGUE])**

_There was not a sound. _

_Aside from the clement drops of rain from the nearby window to the short, pained, sobs of a young girl, there was nothing but an atmosphere of anguish and lamentation within the dim room. The cream-white walls and chocolate brown, carpeted floor appeared to be in dark shades of blue and indigo – matching the color of the cloudy, evening sky that came in from the closed, circular window now marked with droplets of water. In the occasion a train would pass this window by, small patches of light would seep into the room enough to make out the shadow of two figures that knelt upon cushions – one of a girl who just started her middle school years, and the other of a middle-aged man that would be two heads taller than her. _

_Both had remained kneeling within the spacious yet predominantly empty room for what had felt like an eternity – an eternity of sorrow, torture, and depression – and the girl had spent such a time with her palms upon her face, upper body leaned forward so her chest would touch her thighs, and shoulders jerking up and down as each hiccup and cry hurdled out. The man stationed next to her, on the other hand, had kept still – his posture firm and his expression as hard as stone, with eyes that were void as they kept themselves fixed upon the only other object in the room besides them. _

_In front of the two in grief situated a low table; atop it were unlit candles positioned on either side of a picture frame of a woman whose features were blocked by the gloss brought by the light of a full moon. The man shut his eyes slowly as he listened to his companion's sobbing – she had not ceased since the day before, when the actual incident happened. Without another word or sound, he rose himself from his seat almost nonchalantly. _

_"When you're ready, come down to eat dinner." Was all that indifferent, impassive voice had said to her before its owner proceeded to exit the room; almost as if he had not a care in the world. _

_The girl, who had been left behind on the other hand, had not been swayed as she had not responded nor moved an inch. She had been this way since the time it happened – even the constant calls and messages that came from two of her closest friends were ignored. Because at that time, it didn't matter; nothing did. _

_Now that she was gone…_

_ But that did not stop the distaste that formed inside of her once the sound of the traditional, Japanese door sliding shut had reached her ears. And with disdain, she thought to herself:_

_"__**Stop acting like you're so strong…your pretending is despicable…**_

**_But you don't really care much, do you? You never have._**_"_

_And then she lifted her body – facing the altar of the woman in the frame with a tearful, yet furious expression._

_"__**I hate you so much…dad.**__"_

Dark eyes snapped open accompanied with a sharp gasp.

The first things she was greeted with upon waking up were a pile of perfectly stacked books, two ballpoint pens, and sheets of paper on a white, glossy desk. The light surrounding the room she was in was vibrant and yellowish in tone – an indication that it was morning; about 7:00 to be exact. Realizing that she had taken a nap after preparing the bento and costume of her co-resident (as a result of having to wake up early so she wouldn't have trouble reaching the planned meeting time with her clubmates), she fixed her posture and sat back in her seat – rubbing one of her tired eyes gently as a slightly, groggy moan came from her.

"What the heck?" she commented rather sleepily but her urge to scoff at her dream just now was evident in her tone of voice with the slight raise of her eyebrow. Letting out a yawn, she stretched her back by raising her arms and intertwining her fingers "That was ages ago…"

Interrupting her conversation with herself, a knock came from outside the door of her bedroom.

"Inari-nee! I'll be going ahead!" and there came the ever-eager voice of the braided girl that was about to make one of her best memories yet the moment she steps out their front door.

Delighted by the girl's cheer, Inari wasted no time to shout back with the same energy with a smile on her face "Mm! Have fun and good luck!"

With a brief yet ecstatic 'okay!' followed by the sound of the small girl's footsteps padding upon the wooden floor, Manami was out.

Taking a few more moments to smile at the door to relish in how proud she was of her, the red-haired woman's smile never left her face even when she went back to the paperwork on her desk that was about to make a few complications…

"Now, let's finish with you real quick—oh…" just as she was about to deal with a certain matter at hand, a certain number in the Calendar next to her lamp had caught her attention. Blinking twice, her eyelids lowered a bit.

"No wonder…it's today…"

* * *

"**_I _****ask ****_of _****you**…"

A wicked voice that contained nothing but the purest of devilish evil resonated throughout the petrifying darkness that surrounded the trembling body of a doomed girl. All surroundings pitch black – there wasn't a single shred of any other color had been present to give anyone hope; unless one would count the frightening pair of red eyes that peered into the girl's very spirit as the owner of which closed in on her, but there was no hope in those…

…Only demoralization.

"**_Child _****of****_ man…_**"

The hopeless girl's heart pounded just like the thrumming wings of a caged bird – something she's not far from being. With shivering, anxious knees, she attempted to make a run for it; wide eyes out of shine as they quivered in their panicked state.

Only, as she took each step, it was as if she was not getting any farther – each time her foot hit the ground, her weight had become so much harder to carry. Her limbs felt numb, out of energy, and with their life-force sucked away as she could sense other, dark figures surrounding her; trying to keep her from escaping.

"He-Help me…!" this cry had come out chocked and unfinished; like her voice itself had left her body.

_Swish_

_Swash_

At the alarmingly familiar sound, she swiftly shifted her head from side to side where they originated from – two black forms had passed her by, but not enough for her eye to catch as it was only for a fraction of a second. Consequently, this distracted her, and just like the horrible fate of most horror movie protagonists, she tripped with a painful-sounding "Ugh!"

And that's when she realized she was beyond saving as she hesitantly raised her shrunken eyes from the floor to the ominous beasts behind her – to much of her regret.

**_ "Whom was brought about in this world by your tainted ascendants…"_**

With her elbows on the floor and knees wobbly, she attempted to step away – only to find a man with the most malicious smile that stretched from ear to ear, looming over her with the most murderous glare of glowing red eyes not even demons themselves would be able to handle. In no time at all, others carrying the same ghastly expressions had hovered above their caged bird;

**_No escape_**

"**Do yOU kNoW**…"

The voice had become more sinister – causing the doomed victim to feel the need to turn to the direction from whence it came. At this point, the beating in her chest had become so much slower, but more powerful – almost mimicking the continuous _booms_ of a giant monster's footsteps as it closes in on its feast.

Accepting her fate, the only sound that emanated from her was a muffled squeal as the demonic goddess went closer, and closer,

Until finally,

"…**WhaT yOuR sIN iS**?"

"YES!"

"Eh?"

Isura Mai took a deep breath and instantly jumped from her spot on the floor to stand up straight in less than a second. Due to this, Karma – whom loomed from behind her – had to step back a tad in reflex with a deadpan expression, knowing what was gonna happen all too well.

Her fists clenched together as her shoulders tensed up – sweat dripping endlessly.

"2 YEARS AGO I BOUGHT GUM FROM A CONVENIENCE STORE AND I HATED IT! I HATED IT SO MUCH THAT I STUCK IT TO A PERFECTLY CLEAN BIKE HANDLE WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING AND RAN AWAY!"

"Wait, senp—"the stomp of her foot had silenced whoever attempted to stop her as she rambled on.

"AND I THINK THAT BIKE'S OWNER FELL INTO A RIVER SOMEWHERE BUT I JUST SAID 'OH THAT CAN BE ANYTHING' AND THEN WALKED HOME ALONE WITHOUT 40 YEN!"

The brunette paused for a brief moment to take a breath before exploding for one last time – comical tears beginning to brim at the side of her eyes "I KNEW IT WAS WRONG BUT I COULDN'T STAND IT!"

With another fast movement of her upper body, pale brown hair had curtained over the girl's face as she apologized ever so nonchalantly "Please forgive me."

With that unfolding, the ill-omened mood had died down like a cardiac monitor that shifted to a flat line in an instant. In that same instant, the room had no longer been dark – as if once the atmosphere had been killed, so did the set-up of the entire thing. Had she not bowed to them, Mai would have seen how the rest of her juniors had mirrored almost the same expression – displaying only half-lidded eyes with one brow raised as they merely sweatdropped at the typical, yet peculiar, behavior of their upperclassman. They were lined up in front of her in a concave which indicated they had circled her into one corner of their set-up.

The only one of them that hadn't shared the same expression was the one standing directly in front of her. All Manami could do was blink down at the older girl in a manner that questioned if she were alright – resultantly adjusting the red contacts she'd been given by Yuzuki earlier (which still felt uncomfortable to her).

"Uhh…Senpai? You didn't need to answer that." Sugino commented, his countenance not feigning – this was supposed to be their last rehearsal, after all.

"Not to mention that's horrible." Rio, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at the one who confessed the crime – holding a pair of somewhat suspicious, blue eyes with her hands positioned on her waist.

"Oi!" the call had captured the attention of all members in the room.

"It's about time you guys got to your stations! We're opening house in 10 minutes!" Seven pairs of eyes darted to the direction of the school gym's door to find their chemistry teacher's head peaking over from the other side – appearing to be in quite the struggle what with the tight shut of her eyes behind her rectangular frames. She must've been too lazy to leave her chair from outside and stretched her body to the door.

After a unanimous "Yes!" and other signs of confirmation, the group proceeded with their final preparations – they didn't leave the opening for the cultural fest early for nothing. Each one of them had to get ready with their costumes, props, other necessary tools and, of course, make-up (the girls had consumed about an hour and a half with just Manami; courtesy of Fuwa Yuzuki).

Before that, however, Sugino turned a heel to face Mai who had by now stood up properly "Hey, senpai,"

"Yes?" by then, Mai was already about to head out the door to join her teacher – only turning her head over her shoulder to make to blink back at the boy.

"Is manning our registration booth really okay with you? You surely have more things to attend to, don't you? Especially with—"

"No worries~" She reassured him with a thumb up and a radiant grin that went well with her wink "I asked some friends to help me out so I can see your performances to the end! I want to see the results of your efforts with my own two eyes." At that last sentence, droopy yet bright, blue eyes displayed honest eagerness and held great expectations behind them.

Smiles graced the features of the members of the room – they didn't need to say out loud how much they appreciated this senior of theirs for having so much hope in them. It felt genuinely gratifying to have someone like that; especially since they had lived their lives under discrimination and given titles that were not at all friendly back in their middle school days.

"Well then, let's begin our assassination plan." Karma put on his trademark grin in reply, also signaling everyone to prepare their mindsets – earning him some smirks from the rest of the former 3-E. Though Manami, instead of doing such, smiled affectionately from a little distance beside him – sincerely happy for the redhead for she had seen how much he had been enjoying himself lately. It was as if with this, he felt like he was living in the good old days – and she had to know that much by now.

"Mm!" The brunette enthusiastically agreed and headed out the heavy door with a slightly loud _bang_; she didn't know why they always called the cultural festival their assassination plan but whatever makes them happy she'll just go with.

Yuzuki then chose that time to bring out her walkie-talkie and contacted their eagles from above "Chiba-kun! How are things on your end?" she exclaimed energetically – this would have reached the sniper's ears clearly without the gadget in her hand for he and Rinka were merely stationed at the top-most part of the wall of the vast Kimii Gym.

"We're set." He answered back with his own walkie-talkie in his regular, professional business voice – only, there was a hint of excitement laced in it.

He and his partner had settled on the relatively large ledge of one of the windows closest to the ceiling; camouflaging themselves behind the dark curtains they put up all around the room with their all-black outfits. The air guns they had worked on were sashed over their shoulders like they were taught back in Karasuma's class. They were also provided with belts that were constructed with gears connected to some wires– these would also allow them to freely travel around the large venue in somewhat similar fashion seen in an anime with giants (credits to Lovro and the ministry of defense).

"There are more people than I expected…" Chiba caught Rinka eyeing the people that were beginning to line up outside under the blue sky of fall – it wasn't as many as they'd hoped, but it was still a lot. She didn't show it, and she rarely ever did, but he could tell that she was troubled by something even with that stoic face of hers.

The dark-haired boy knew this far too well, as he was one to share this particular anxiety with her oftentimes – the anxiety of messing up after expending so much time and effort for such a big plan.

"It'll be fine." with the slight curve up of his lips, Chiba reassured her – and no other words needed to be exchanged for her to return the smile at him.

However, Rinka answered back "That's not really the only thing I'm worried about." and shifted her emerald stare to the lot beneath them.

Down below, the other combat club members had on getups of their respective demonic spirits that befitted the theme of the horror labyrinth as the entirety of it had been based off classic Japanese horror folklore and legends. There was evidence of meticulousness upon their attire due to the impressive detail placed into the design and choice of cloth – the Okimuras must really be the type to leave no customer uncharmed, especially since they played a diverse set of supernatural beings.

But, all else aside, it was the main attraction's attire that had been the most well-made.

"Do you need help with the glow-in-the-dark contacts?" Yuzuki asked thoughtfully (those contacts were expensive).

"They're a little uncomfortable, but I can manage." The girl assured her friend whilst blinking to make it more convincing.

Pink eyes were studying the smaller girl in front of her with ease, proud of the work she had performed on Manami – you almost wouldn't be able to recognize the same, innocent bunny she was what with the make-up that made her appear more intimidating now. Rio, whom stood next to her, had been in charge of her hair – which had simply been ironed straight so it may flow down her shoulders and back elegantly. Besides, the golden headpiece she had on was eye-catching enough.

Satisfied with their work, the two girls went ahead to support her "You remember everything we told you, right?"

"Yes." Manami answered firmly, but with a determined smile that showed how ready she was.

"But don't stress over it too much, okay? Let's have some fun!"

"Mm!"

And with a high five shared with the three, the blond proclaimed "We're good to go!"

Sugino took that as his cue to do his job and turn on the radio hidden behind one of the curtains that would play all the sound effects and music they would need. Slowly, the ominous sounds seeped into the huge room, filling everyone's ears with a sound that bounced off of each corner unevenly – similar to microphone feedback, only it was a much more pleasant sound; one that would create chills move across one's spine.

Just as the baseball boy was about to carry out his next task, he took notice of his red-haired friend tinkering with something near one of the walls of their labyrinth. If he recalled correctly, that was where one of the traps had been set…

Curiosity and wariness washing over him, Sugino stopped for a moment and raised an eyebrow towards him "Karma, what are you doing?"

"Just something to add a little more fun…" he didn't need to turn his back to face him for the spiky-haired boy to tell there was a mischievous smirk stretched on his face as he worked with hands – he also didn't need to guess if there were a dark aura around him right now since it would be strange if there weren't.

Eventually, he thought it best not to respond nor further argue with him– it was futile anyway (no matter how wary he was). With a sigh, he patted the other boy's shoulder and continued walking "I'll leave you to it, then."

Observing that he would pass by Manami, he put on a smile and decided to raise her spirits for today as well just as soon as the two other girls ran for their positions in the large maze they made. "Okuda!" he raised his hand for her to catch in a high-five – which, to his satisfaction, she obliged to as he told her "Good luck!" before he hurried to kill the lights of the room.

As soon as Karma was finished with whatever he did, he tucked his hands in the pockets of his costume and approached the raven-haired girl right after Sugino had wished her good luck. Soon enough, she sensed his presence getting closer to her and turned her head to his direction – giving him a beam. He returned this while he beheld her new look for today. In all honesty, he did find what she was wearing quite daunting, yet strangely suitable to her; given the fact that he admits the kimono is beautiful (not out loud though), he had no complaints. Kudos to the Okimuras for a job well done.

"This is rare; you having no braids and glasses and all." He commented on her getup just as he stopped in his tracks beside her.

Manami's smile didn't waver as she picked up a few strands of her hair to look at – still feeling a little strange since she wasn't used to it "Yup. Rio-chan said I'd look better without them."

"Heehh…" Karma leaned down and studied the girl's face and hair. Had he not done so, he wouldn't have noticed the fake eyelashes and extra shine in her eyes given by the contacts. The lack of spectacles had disturbed him, but not as much as the absence of the _hairties_ did.

In the midst of him doing this however, the girl had begun to feel uncomfortable under his intent stare and stepped back a little – some heat rising to her cheeks. But just before she could say anything, he straightened up and closed his eyes; putting on a relaxed smile "Oh well. Just for a day anyway."

"What is?"

"Oi! Hurry up and get moving!" another shout from his chemistry teacher caught her attention – having her flinch a tad and feel the sense of urgency beginning to bloom in her stomach.

"We should get going…" she uttered quietly with her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Hey." The slight change in his tone of voice grabbed the attention of the chemistry-lover. In her turn to meet his mercury eyes, she had been greeted by the sight of his fist instead – behind it, a smile of encouragement had graced his features. His eyes held optimism and absolute faith in what they were looking at.

"Good luck." He said this sincerely; expression not waning.

For moments, Manami could only gaze up at him. This was the same look he'd given her last night by the train, and yet she still could not bring herself to tear away from it. The earlier urgency blooming in her stomach had formed into a warm, fuzzy sensation that transferred to her chest. Not wishing to leave him unanswered, her expression softened quite affectionately as she lifted her own fist and brought it in contact with his.

"Mhm. You too."

_I still don't fully understand what I'm going to do with these feelings of mine…_

"I'll be going then." He bid her farewell with that and headed off to his designated area – and the only thing she could do was wave at his retreating back until it disappeared behind the black curtain.

_But I do know one thing_…

She raised the skirt of her long, midnight-dark, layered kimono as she walked up the small steps to her stage which was at the center of the entire gym. Her _Geta_ created _clicks_ and _clacks_ on the wooden stairs as she settled down in her station.

_If I act on them…_

Red eyes covering purple ogled at the hard work and passion of her friends in the form of a cultural festival set-up. The walls were covered in large black cloths and she could see the walls of the maze clearly from her end – but she knew there were more things hidden in every nook and cranny. She'll have to truly give it her best to compensate for all they'd done.

_I'll surely change things for all of us…_

It seemed Sugino had at last found the light switch for soon enough, any source of light had begun to dim – fading at the same speed Manami decided to rest her eyes closed; bracing herself for what's to come.

_And I…_

And the room was black.

_…don't want that_

* * *

"Alright, I don't want to bow down before headmaster-sama again so let's do it!" The orange-haired teacher shouted out with a fist in the air. Her energy was evident from her facial expression as she slammed the registration table.

"N!" Mai, whom sat beside her, cheered with the same level of energy and chomped down the last of her stick of Dango which she bought from another stall before going there. With a mouth full of sweet balls of rice, she exclaimed with eyes shut tight "Leght dhe Kibii Annul School Fieshta commensh!"

Only one person cheered from that with a "Yeah!" followed by a small yet short silence.

Mikagura Midori's eyebrows scrunched together with the narrow of her eyes "Tch. Tough crowd." Settling back in her seat, she sighed and reached for the sign to flip open while her co-worker opened the empty box that would soon be filled with cash. "Then, I'll start the countdown. 10…"

* * *

_9…_

Rio just finished wrapping around the doll that she would hold with white baby cloth – making sure to cover its face. She examined herself once more; even in the dark, it wasn't very hard to see her white, rundown kimono smeared with fake blood especially at the bottom portion. How they chose her to be the _Ubume_ is still a little bit of a mystery, but she didn't have a problem with it and put on her long, black wig. Even though most were aware that she originally had black hair, she refused to lose the golden locks she had held onto for so long; not to mention, her hair would be ruined if she decided to dye it again.

She then put her white hood over her head – and with a smile, she prepared her bloodlust.

_8…_

Sugino hid in his corner of the room with his multitude of fake weapons. He took one last look at his Katana before sheathing it back in its scabbard rested in the belt of his Nameless Samurai costume. There was a fair amount of blood spread throughout his attire, but it was most prominent in his chest. And, to mimic a true samurai, he crossed his arms; covering them with the long, large, dark blue sleeves as he closed his eyes in wait.

Slowly, he could feel his lust for blood coming back.

_7…_

Yuzuki performed the traditional superstition of drawing the '人' symbol on her palm and feeding it to herself. Heaving a breath, she started to feel less nervous as she stared at the large doors of the gym that were just right in front of her – the only source of light had come from its edges. She made some final checks on her hair; though short, it was styled to look like a bun with the help of her headpiece and chopsticks – just so she could look more like the _Hone Onna_ even with the matching, maroon Kimono which reached the floor.

With the flex of her left hand, she folded open her ōgi and held a red, peony lantern in the other. Her pink eyes were then narrowed – and thanks to the growing bloodlust, they seemed to glare eerily under the dark.

_6…_

Rinka stroked the air gun in his arms with a cloth one last time – as if the shinier it got, the deadlier it got. Her back was leaned against the side of the ledge with one knee supporting her elbow holding her gun as the other leg stretched towards her partner, whom mirrored her same posture.

It was dark where they were, but if anyone were there to see how the two of them looked, they'd surely run all the way back to their mother's womb. The sniper duo was already intimidating as they were, but with their bodies against the light of the window, _both_ of their eyes appeared to be glowing with murderous intent in the surrounding darkness.

They were more than ready to assassinate.

_5…_

Karma didn't know if they wanted to tease him or not, but he had been assigned to _Aka Manto_ (Red Cloak), and thus gave him a simple red cloak to put on over his all black, long-sleeved outfit. But he didn't mind – there was no need for him to have anything else.

That's because even without anything on to make him look scary, Akabane Karma could be scary if he wanted to.

And he so badly wanted to today.

He put on the most devilish smile he could manage as soon as he felt his bloodlust overflow like a cup of wine – and it would have been enough to kill anyone on sight.

_Kill, huh?_

And for the first time in a very long time, his wicked snicker felt genuine.

_4…_

Manami took a good look at the large design that took up the wall behind her and smiled at it.

She double-checked the number of chemicals she had hidden under her sleeve (pun intended), and soon remembered something:

_"It's poison! Please drink it!"_

She would be inviting those that went in to do the same. It felt odd to her – really, it did – but she felt herself smirk. Deep, hungry bloodthirstiness which she thought she had lost forever had started to enter her system. For some reason, she could feel the same emanating from the rest of her friends from 3-E no matter how far they were. The room was beginning to ooze with this murderous intent – enough to get rid of the breathable air within the school gym with the toxic that was bloodlust.

And no one had any problem with that.

Manami too, had chosen to close her eyes.

_…3…2…1…_

_TARGET, ON!_

* * *

**AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! ****And if you're wondering what Karma did to his trap well…let's just say it goes 'Pwi!' ;D**

**Hope this didn't disappoint and I'll try to update as soon as I can! In all honesty I was almost done but got distracted by Zootopia. Who would've thought I'd start shipping a fox and a bunny.**

**And I am getting off-topic**

**Alright! So here's the glossary as promised:**

**Geta: Japanese shoes**

**ōgi: Japanese Fan  
**

**Cultural Festival Roles:**

**Rio: _Ubume_ \- These are spirits that have either died giving birth or died with their baby while giving birth. If it's the former, then the Ubume would search for her child and wander about. If it's the latter though, t****he Ubume usually shouts in the dark in forests with a baby in hand and asks a passerby to hold her child for just a moment and disappears when her victim takes the swaddled baby. The baby then becomes increasingly heavy until it is impossible to hold. It is then revealed not to be a human child at all, but a boulder with a certain face that crushes the victim eventually. **

**Sugino: _Restless Samurai Spirit – [I actually made this one up since there are many] _he committed seppuku (samurai's honorable suicide) and cannot rest in peace until justice and honor is served  
**

**Yuzuki: _Hone-Onna -_ Hone-Onna usually lures her victims (men most especially) into their impending doom with the illusion that she is a beautiful yet skinny woman. In reality, she's a skeleton that will **** kill by extracting their lifeforce or by grabbing their hands and holding them until the victim becomes a skeleton himself. **

**Karma: _Aka Manto (Red cloak) – _he is the one in rumored to be in the bathroom in Japan who would ask you whether you would choose either a red paper or a blue paper. If you chose red, you will be sliced apart until your clothes are stained red. If you chose blue, he would strangle you until your face turns blue. Any attempt to outsmart him will just make him immediately drag you to the netherworld.  
**

**Manami: _Izanami_ – If you have had your fair share of anime you should know who she is but I'll still tell you XD. Izanami is the goddess of the underworld and is usually very lonely and in need of a playmate. (Also suits her as a part of her name [-nami]) **

**Now, you tell me how you think I came up with such roles for them ;D**

**SOURCES: Wikipedia, w w w. xo jane fun/s c ariest - jap ane se- ghosts**

**Alright then this is taking up too much time now**

**BYE BYE FOR NOW!**

**With love,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay. I know how pissed off you all must be about the last chapter but HAHAHA Happy April my dear readers! XD Hope you guys got a good one XDDD**

**But hey in all seriousness (LOL) I didn't plan to just piss you off today so I whipped up something just for you guys! (and so I wouldn't be murdered and/or raided)**

**THIS IS THE LEGIT NEXT CHAPTER OF TO REACH YOU! XD**

**That last chapter was written as seriously as its story. So please don't take it seriously. I was not in the sane state of mind at the time I wrote it. Thank you for understanding that let us move along. **

**In all honesty this chapter should've covered a full day of the fiesta but I wasn't able to finish it on time for April 1 DX So I halfed it again! Just like how I did with the Field Trip Arc! Though I'm struggling to finish the chapter what with all the writer's block and all the anime I feel the need to catch up on so please bear with this slow pace for a while ;w;**

**I assure you though, I'll be ready with that chapter as soon as I can!**

**Just trying to get used to my writing again, is all 8D**

**Alright anyway let's answer those reviews dearies XD:**

**I12BFree: THANKS FOR LEAVING A REVIEW! Oh that fox and rabbit XD And yes you are correct! As for that question, we can only find out by reading ;D**

**roxan1930: Thanks for the review! And I hope this doesn't disappoint!**

**TheRoseShadow21: Thank you for reviewing yet again my loyal reader senpai! ;;w;; Glad you've stuck to this story for a long time and I'm truly grateful for that! Especially when you always take the time to review it ;;w;; Also, I think so too XD When I remembered it it felt like Karma was born to do it XD **

**Kuroe Chitsu: THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS AND FOR REVIEWING! And I'm happy to hear that my chapter made you really happy! ANd of course I won't forget to update! Hope you enjoy this one!**

**FandomSupporter15: Hope this pleases you! And thanks for reviewing!**

**Title Unwanted: Thank you for the review! And it's glad to be back and free from other worries! Thanks for telling me all the parts you liked about this chapter and for your thoughts of course! And yup XD I had fun writing that last bit since it was very assassin-y of them and not like this shoujo manga for a fanfic lolz**

**OKAY Things you should know before reading:**

**'Oni' – means demon. It's usually the term people in Japan use though when someone's ****_it_**** in a game. **

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOT ANSATSU KYOUSHITSU. All to Matsui-sensei the great. **

* * *

**Chapter 24: What You Are To Me (FIESTA ARC! [Part 1: Let the Games Begin])**

"Tch. Look what we have here boys."

A large, bulky man who appeared no younger than 20 (he was only 17 though) scoffed at the generic, black poster that barely stood out from the rest posted upon the cultural festival bulletin board just outside the Kimii High School entrance. His wild eyes moved up to absorb the picture before him with the other four of his group standing behind him.

The Kimii grounds were, besides packed, nothing short of lively. Arrays of colorful buntings and streamers adorned the prestigious academy – students in both costumes and uniforms roamed around with bright smiles and radiated with energy. Just by the gates, were students handing out flyers and shouting out the names of the various attractions found in the campus; such is the art of advertising as there are even those putting up with outrageous costumes while going around screaming to the crowd that they should visit their club's attraction. To much of the Kimii population's luck, there were plenty of all ages entering and at a remarkable rate. Arrows and maps were even conveniently placed upon walls and bulletin boards in various places to help outsiders navigate through the large institution.

There were rows of diverse food and game stalls that were lined up in the vast assembly area just in front of the main building; with a single fountain situated in the very center of the space that gave a great effect to the overall celebratory feeling of the school. Add a beautiful, crisp weather to the recipe, and you have one of the most impressive school fiestas out there – and all of that was just the outside.

Albeit the notable charm of the sight before them, the five, large troublemakers merely kept on sneers as they bashed the entire thing – especially the one, plain black poster that caught their eye. Of course it captured the attention of folk such as them; not only did they feel the so-called need to ridicule it with its plain design (it was just black with the title '_Hide and Seek_' and some other important description), but they were extra ready to trash-talk it knowing that it was the attraction of the brats that beat them up once before – and as one may already tell, they're the type that would hold grudges.

"Tsk. Hide and Seek? What the hell is that?"

"A horror labyrinth, eh?"

"This ain't nothin' special. I've been to tons of them out there and none of them were worth it. This one 'ere shouldn't make a difference." With a scowl on as he derided the work, one of them indecorously spit to the side – without a shred of regret coming up on his features.

"Keh. What do you think, Takeo?" the boy on his left scoffed – his narrow, fish-like eyes moving towards the tall leader, who appeared to be smirking with malignant intent as he seemed to be enjoying the plan formulating inside of his mind.

With the widening of his vengeful grin, Takeo finally spoke – his tone of voice bilious and sardonic "These newbie-club suckers wouldn't stand a chance against any of our cheap games."

At that statement, the rest of the boys behind him had their own ill-natured grins stretch across their faces as their eyes lit up at the idea they all had seemed to grasp. With destructive excitement evident in his smirk, one of them said "Does that mean…?"

"We're trashing it." The bulky leader of the group faced his 'minions' with his hands inside his pockets – his back slouched in his poor posture as the wild look in his eyes increased at the same rate his exhilaration for his own plan did.

"It's customer's word against theirs. And the customer's always right." His raspy voice was extra-nasty at the last five words as he stepped to the side to face the school once more – a spiteful air surrounding his gang with each of them holding their own scornful expressions.

"Get ready for the sweet taste of revenge, boys."

* * *

Revenge was what they kept on snickering about as they walked through the noisy school campus until they noticed the people in the sidelines. Seemed that those people had just come from the _Hide and Seek_ booth judging from the direction most were coming from; that and there was the stuffy, dismal and dark aura that only grew even thicker as each dead soul—person passed them by.

"H-Hey! Get a hold of yourself!"

A male student's panicked voice reached their ears. Glancing over the direction of its origin, they spotted the said student shaking the shoulders of his friend whose life force appeared to have left him. His eyes – no, not just – his entire body took on a solid white complexion as you can practically see his soul begin to fly out of his mouth the more he muttered some incomprehensible sentences. This only led his friend to freak out even more as another scream left his mouth.

"W-Whoa! D-Dude, your eyes look dead…" another student's voice got the attention of the gang and its leader as each turned to have a look – only to feel a little bit of regret after once their eyes were met with what looked like a mini-fleet of zombies. Upon seeing this, beads of sweat had begun to drop from the side of each bulky boy's head the more they observed the creepy, petrified faces of fear still pasted upon the soulless vessels.

The uneasiness that was beginning to form inside the gut of all had only been reinforced the moment the sound of gagging came to earshot.

"O-OI! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" over to the left where the bushes were, a woman who looked to be an outsider had dropped on all fours, vomiting behind the shrubs as another boy from their own school watched with terror – he too must have come from the same attraction due to his pale complexion and wide, ever-cautious eyes.

When they at last entered a quiet, empty hallway inside one of the buildings (to be a shortcut towards their destination), the next sound that came had irked the biggest man among them.

_Gulp_

Hearing this come from one of his gang members from behind him, Takeo sharply turned – eyes indicating just how outraged he was (in the outside, at least) by the cowardly display that had just become evident in his crew. "Oi! When did you all become a bunch of wusses?!"

The rest of them only jerked backwards in their panic as the tall man chided them – some drops of saliva even flying out of his big mouth "It's not as if they can actually _kill_ you in there! So stop whining!" he crossed his arms and scowled in annoyance "If they hurt us in any way I'm filing a complaint. And even if they don't, I'm still gonna bring them out of business—!"

Takeo stiffened at the sudden touch of an ice-cold hand upon his shoulder; even the boys he was facing seemed to freeze in apprehension. For seconds, he couldn't move – rather, he refused to. That was until, of course, curiosity got the best of him and he turned around.

Regret couldn't have hit harder for the very moment he spared a glance, his eyes were met with what he thought was the vengeful ghost of The Conjuring. What he was able to perceive before he jumped back with a yelp were the girl's wide, horror-stricken eyes, pale, ice-cold skin underneath the tangled strands of dark hair that covered her face. Her lips were formed into a distressing frown and were just as white as the white in her eyes – almost blue even, as she didn't even look like she was breathing anymore.

As the five large men slightly trembled at the sight before them, the girl who was apparently a student of Kimii hugged her forearms as she shivered – the fright in her void, black orbs never leaving as she faced the floor and uttered "S-She…Sh-She found me…th-that…the demon fo-found me…!" the tone she used was low and ghastly, but overflowing with anxiety as her voice became increasingly louder – her nails digging into her uniform with more force "I…! I tried to hide the best I could b-but…! Her eyes…The eyes…! Beware of those eyes…!" her ghost-like fingers moved up to the sides of her head the more panicked she got.

And when she sharply turned to nothing, she lost it "NO! GO AWAY! The bells…! The Shamisen…! GO AWAY! GO A—!"

Thankfully, before the group of boys decided to book it, another girl came from behind her and held her shoulders for her friend to calm down. Although, something about this girl was also quite disconcerting – her eyes were heavy and burdened by dark bags that were extra prominent with her dead expression.

"C'mon…let's go get some burgers…" she said in a tone a little above a whisper only; remaining expressionless until –

"Th-there are knives there…!"

Gradually, the stone-face the other girl held twisted in fright as the dark-bluish hue that had already came down from her forehead became darker. "H-Heh?!" she heaved in deep breaths – almost hyperventilating before she and her friend screamed with an "UWAAAAHHH!" and ran down the hallway until they eventually disappeared from their vicinity – almost leaving their souls behind.

Even if Takeo could sense his own nervousness piling up and enough to give him a bad stomachache, he managed to use his arrogance to push it all down before he proceeded to yell at the boys behind him once again for he could feel their dread from a mile away.

"What?! You're gonna let that bring you down?! They're just a bunch of girls!"

"B-But I know that the one who was just behind you is a 3rd year Martial arts—!"

"SHUT UP!"

And just as he trudged away – with the five of them tailing behind – Takeo slapped his hands on both sides of his face in a way that would snap him out of his earlier trance. His angry steps stomped through the hallway and even onto the grass once he'd left the building. All the while, he continuously murmured angrily to himself, "It's not like they can hurt you. They're getting out of business if it's the last thing I do. What was that anyway? Trying to make fun of me, are ya? Keh, this is child's play. It's not as if this thing's gonna—! Eh?!"

He had to stop the moment he realized there was no more ground for him to walk on. Lifting his chin to see who owned the feet that blocked his path, he froze in place – eyes in utter disbelief at the appallingly long line ahead of them. If he were to estimate, the amount of people standing in front of them could be enough to measure nearly a fourth of the school's large campus.

And for seconds, all the five of them could do was stare with their eyebrows twitching.

* * *

_About an hour and a half later…_

"Hello~!" greeted a jovial, friendly voice once the group of large boys had, _at last_, arrived at the registration booth of the outrageously popular cultural festival club booth. Seriously, from the looks of it, they'd taken it way too far to the point that nothing else being showcased in the school could do anything to top it. But that fact didn't seem to be the slightest bit perturbing to the two girls in front of them as they didn't seem to mind at all – especially the one with brown hair who continued to smile brightly at the perplexed set of teenagers.

That wasn't the only thing on their mind though,

_What's such a cute girl doing here?_

They wouldn't have noticed that they had been stupidly staring with infatuated grins for quite some time now had it not been for the brunette's voice "What are your names?"

Just as they'd finished jotting down their names, Mai thanked them accordingly before extending her palm – her beaming face never faltering, almost like a robot's. "Alright, 180 yen please."

"Wha—?! That expensive?!" the discourteous leader had to lean backward in surprise after such a price left her mouth.

"Why of course, it did take a lot of money to create this, after all." Her countenance did not feign, but she recognized the fools in front of her from the early part of the year– they were the ones that had started trouble with some of the students of her school. But what really mattered was that they were partly (mostly, really) to blame for the reason Combat Club had financial complications.

Begrudgingly, although they couldn't find it in themselves to refuse, the boys handed over their cash to the short girl seated on a Monobloc chair behind the small table. And as she delightedly arranged their money inside the metal box, one of them had apparently mustered enough guts to even say "Miss, you are really a nice source of relaxation right now."

Mai stood up from her seat – the same smile never leaving her face as she said "Oh no, I'm just the calm before the storm. Come along please~" she gestured for them to follow her as she happily skipped about toward the door.

Exchanging a brief look of confusion, the boys secretly wondered if they'd ever done anything bad to her before. But after sharing a shrug to well…shrug it off, they caught up with the small girl who stopped just right outside of the gymnasium's metal door – causing them to have to skid to a stop due to the suddenness of her movements.

"Well then, before entering I will tell you some of the rules and objectives of the booth." She raised her index finger as she explained with enthusiastic eyes "You have 15 minutes inside – within those 15 minutes, you'll have to hide from the goddess and make sure she doesn't find you. If you happen to be able to get out of the venue within the time limit, we may pay you back double the price of the entrance fee."

"Hah! Sounds like a piece of—!"

"However~!" She kept on the older sister-like aura she had a tendency to display even when she cut one of them off before he got too arrogant and carried on with her explanation. "If she _does_ find you, you'll have to pay another 180 yen." Her tone was, ever so slightly, laced with some threat – but this quickly dissipated when she clapped her hands together "But if you're able to hide for the entire 15 minutes without getting caught then there's no problem at all~! Feel free to play again. Also if you break anything that'll be 600 yen coming from each of you. Thank you!" she quickly added before she vigorously pushed the metal door open with a palm next to her bright grin as she exclaimed into the vast room.

"Yaho! Here's your next customer!"

Her cheerful voice echoed throughout the pitch black room in an eerie fashion; and for a second there, the gang members were convinced that no one was inside.

That was until they leaned forward just a bit to find a girl standing in the center of a black wall – the sunlight that had seeped in from the wide-open door had shone on her in such a way a spotlight normally would.

At first glance, the girl had some sort of menacing aura to her, to say the least. Underneath her short, brown hair which had been fixed traditionally, she had the make-up of a geisha – her narrowed fuchsia orbs had a glowing impression thanks to that and the glamorous, red peony lantern she had in her hand. The lower half of her face, however, had been concealed by the ōgi she held in the other hand; she was even poised perfectly as if she were expecting their coming.

Despite this though, Takeo and the rest of his gang's members did not flinch upon seeing her – no matter how pretty she looked. Notwithstanding how they are, they were well aware of how things like haunted houses and horror mazes went, as well as all the clichés with it.

Of course they'd open it up this way! – was what had gone through their mind. Nevertheless, that arrogance on their faces had faltered – shifting to expressions of quizzicality once the sound of creaking metal resonated.

With a fast "I bid thee well" from the girl of the counter, the slam of the door nearly deafened everyone in the room. And with that, they were left alone – with no one there with them but the intimidating lady in traditional Japanese apparel.

At least, so far…

"Oh, welcome." Was all she said when she lowered the fan to reveal lush, red lipstick curved into a smirk – a tone laced with amusement and mock surprise; like how any sassy waitress would greet her evening guests in a fancy restaurant. Upon seeing them, the girl could never have been more excited to give the thugs in front of her the time of their lives…

…or deaths…

* * *

_Jingle_

"Hey, is this gonna take any longer? I'm already bored out of my mind!" one of them had scoffed for the umpteenth time – and it had only been less than five minutes since the girl in the geisha get-up had told her victims—visitors to follow her lead.

_Jingle_

She turned her head upward at the all-too-familiar sound of the shrine bells; and if she listened closely, there came the faint sound of a shamisen being played quite dissonantly. Gently, she closed her eyes shut as if she were sensing a presence before she let her pink eyeballs move to the side of the fools behind her – catching them pointing and jeering at some of the props and designs they had put up on the walls.

"Hah! Look at this little item over here!" it was one of the dusty paintings that hung on the wall with a golden (yet clearly Styrofoam) frame to support it. Like all the other paintings in the room, there was a label beneath the picture that served as its frame – the one they were meddling with was entitled 'Gastro'.

"Don't touch anything." The smooth yet stern voice of the maiden straightened most of the boys in attention – the only one who still kept his disinterested glower was their one and only leader; who paid her no reaction.

"This is the Hall of the Brave – the first unit of Izanami-sama's maze." She stepped to the side to face them as she spread her arms a little bit to her side – a gesture that told them to behold their surroundings, and they obliged. While the hall itself was narrow due to the black maze walls that followed a straight, almost never-ending line, the path they took had many, rather nerve-wracking adornments to it – such are the portraits of some relatively unsettling folks as dust and cobwebs appeared to form among them. The floor they stepped upon had a number of disoriented Japanese ornaments – lying about as if they'd just been dropped there from a box and swept with a broom to the side for space (they were).

But somehow, that had contributed to the overall feeling of disorder and chaos in the area– both physically and mentally.

The maiden kept her smug face on as the continued with her explanation – moving her sleeved, right wrist close to her lips as the other stayed just underneath it "The people you see here are assassins that have never met triumph in their venture to slay the beast of End. And since then, they have lurked in the dark – hungry for more blood to lick from their very palms. Mind your surroundings – they tend to stare…" at that last note, she swiftly spun around to continue walking with the effect of her Kimono.

Albeit that short bit of uncanniness, Takeo still had the nerve to click his tongue "Tsk. Whatever, are things gonna get real yet? What you're doing here is lame."

Yet again, she did not respond as she merely carried on – not even sparing them a glance anymore, leading to the bulky boy displaying his contempt again, but complying to following her.

As they moved along, none of them had dared to _stop_ rolling their eyes and scoffing at everything they looked at – either saying things like 'Che, lame' or 'my sister's doll is scarier than this' and other insolent whatnot. But the girl merely said nothing; her mischievous grin only stretching a tad wider.

"Heh. Tend to stare…" said one of them as he read the name 'Lovro' and let his eyes travel from the cursive letters up to the man's face as he snickered mockingly. Just as he was about to make yet another rude comment on the frame, he had been met with emerald eyes peering right into him – causing him to jerk backwards a little.

Studying it a bit more, he could've sworn that picture didn't have eyes that color just a second ago – especially eyes as realistic and as threatening as the pair glaring right at him. He had to blink a few times to make sure that it wasn't his mere imagination. Once he was sure that it wasn't, his natural instincts warned him to scurry away; which he followed obediently. However, taking a peek over his shoulder, he could swear to Amaterasu herself that those piercing, emerald eyes had followed him to where he was. In his panic, he hastily caught up to the others.

"Oi, something's watching us." He whispered to one of his gang – anxiety creeping up in his tone of voice.

"What?"

"Over there." But the second he pointed, there was nothing but a portrait of a man with dead, black eyes – there was not a trace of anything that had been there. While the boy who had witnessed it just earlier could only stare at the object with utter disbelief – mouth agape, even, the other remained unfazed before he slapped his friend's hand away from his shoulder to walk again. He didn't even have any time for second-guessing before he insulted "Wimp."

_Swash_

But just as he said that, a wave of mild and uncertain alertness washed over them – accompanied with a slowly increasing nervousness.

"Huh? What was that?"

"What was what?"

_Swish_

"This time I could've sworn I heard something—"

"Quiet!" Takeo was beginning to become fed up with the so-called cowardly manners – his voice a volume so high it was enough to not only bounce off the walls of the wide, hollow room, but it even shook one of the large bells (Suzu) of the shrine-like area—

Then they realized that such had been intentionally shaken by the maiden leading their way. Clapping her hands together twice, the girl bowed her head in front of the single Suzu in a prayer position "Say your prayers here."

Unable to follow what had just happened from being taken aback by the sound, the boys mirrored her actions and spent moments of silence – simply going with the flow. This flow had been broken however, when an inquisitive voice interrupted what they were doing just as the owner of which had come to his senses.

"Wait, for what?"

As if she were just waiting for such a retarded response, the classy face they were greeted with just a mere three minutes ago had faced them with a savage, maddening grin accompanied by eyes that brimmed with a hunger for torture – sadism beyond the boundaries of all logic emitted from her very form as she folded her fan to say—

"**YoUR LiVeS.**"

And all sources of light had gone off by the swift movement of her arm. But seeing as most of them had saw it as a typical, pathetic way to even stimulate fear within them, another jeer resounded in the room – this time out of annoyance.

"Still not scared!" sniggers broke out from the rest of them right after he said that; though this had become short-lived once they had noticed that not all lights were gone and turned towards the faint, red light that flickered like a torch.

Their eyes were first met with a peony red lantern – slowly losing its life in the hands of the…

And then they realized those weren't just hands.

Surrounded by darkness, all that could be seen as relatively normal was the lady's decorated face and partly the upper half of her outfit which had still been given view by the weak candle of red fire. The ultimately jaw-dropping sight was the undeniable fact that whatever had not been touched by light upon the girl's body was pure, rotting bone.

And with a maniacal smile – a _huff_, and a whiff of smoke, the five teenagers had been faced with a lifeless, fleshless, and certainly bloodless, skeleton…

In the pitch

Black

Dark.

* * *

It all happened too fast.

One moment they were chilled to the bone by a skeletal woman waving them their probable last farewell, and the next they found themselves tripping over a trap they did not even notice was there the first time they had walked upon the waxed, cemented floors of the room. Hence,– either they felt that they went through different, hidden doors upon the wall and fell to the next room, or were forcibly dragged somewhere else by some unknown being, they'll never know – but the next moment they found themselves no longer in the same place, separated from one another.

The next thing they knew, they could hear the traditional sounds of a shamisen – a regular Japanese instrument, only there was a certain ring to the one their ears received; a frightful, murderous ring that did not feign to inflict a horrendous twist in the interior of their stomachs as it only performed an upsurge.

But that didn't seem to be the end of it, for as the instrument's tune loudened, so did eerily chiming giggles of a girl "_Hn? Who is it now?"_ the voice cooed – disturbingly inviting. At that time, all boys had come back to their senses, discerning that there were probably two of them on either side of the labyrinth, and one all alone. Each drew their heads from their sprawled out positions upon the floor to the origin of the voice.

_Jingle_

_"Oh? Looks like we have more company..." _the booming voice of the unknown lady lingered in the air as each word was spoken– they assumed by now it was the Izanami speaking to them.

"_Won't you be dears and play with us for a bit? Surely it wouldn't be so bad to join us for a little game…"_ this sentence was then followed by low, sinister snickers coming from all directions they could look at – but even with this, nothing could be seen; the darkness was much too overwhelming.

_Jingle _

_"You…__**sinful pigs.**_**" **There was a drastic change to her tone – what was once just sinister and coy, had turned bilious and hostile just for that one instant. Resultantly, this had been able to slap each one of them back to reality as all, despite being separated, scurried to their feet in frantic search for a way out.

"H-Hurry up and find that exit!"

"Stay by the sides! There should be a backstage somewhere to get out of here!"

_Jingle_

"_Huh? Where did you go? Why are you running away?" _As they shuffled through the dark in their agitated states, the goddess' words felt as if it followed them whichever way they went; and although they had tried to muster enough courage and common sense that whoever was speaking was probably just another student of the school, that didn't stop their tense footsteps from quickening.

"_Oh I see, you want to play hide and seek?" _the goddess cooed once more, with nothing but sheer, sadistic amusement laced in her baleful voice _"Okay, I'll be the it*."_

In their confusion, little did they know that the groups they were separated into were only being lured farther and farther away from each other – exactly just like how a hill of ants would scatter after being stepped on. And in this scattered state, preys are much so easier to lure into their inevitable dooms.

_"But just wait…" _She said rather playfully as she giggled maddeningly once more.

_"…__**you can't hide from me.**__" _

_Jingle _

And the game began just like that.

* * *

**YOSH~! How was it? 83  
**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think or which parts you like! I know there really isn't much to talk about in this chapter as it's merely a half of what was supposed to come (A short half, really). I promise I'm gonna post it as soon as possible to not keep you guys hanging for too long! **

**I also wanna get this arc finished already since it started almost a year ago and I'm still not finished DX Especially when this arc has a lot of dram-**

**NO SPOILERS! ;D**

**Again, Happy April and thank you for your loyal following readers! I love you all! Have a good day!**

**With love from the other side of the world,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yaho! I'm back with, finally, my regular number of words per chapter XD (Actually it's pretty long XD)**

**HERE IS THE LONG-AWAITED FIRST DAY OF THE FESTIVAL FINALLY BROUGHT TO YOU! And I hope to God I did not screw up 8"D**

**Sorry it took so long, I had writer's block and at some points I lost some motivation to write 8'( But Hey past is past and here I am with the next chapter which I will hope you enjoy!**

**Not much Karumana in the chapter since they were all busy, but I ASSURE you there will be LOTS in the next few chapters! After all the Cultural Festival Arc is a more dramatic, hurt/comfort arc that had only been prolonged and delayed since school went in the way DX I'll do my best to finish as much as I can of this story this time.**

**Can't answer reviews for a while since I have to go ;w; But please still leave one!**

**Kay not much to say anymore so let's go**

**Disclaimer: Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (暗殺教室) is owned by Matsui-sensei. This is a piece of amateur literature called a fanfiction. Let's move along.**

****If you have trouble trying to understand what's going on here, it just means that while she's explaining things, it shows what the students are doing inside 8D Think of anime.**

* * *

**Chapter 25: What You Are To Me (FIESTA ARC! [Part 2: One Day])**

All alone, he walked.

After being separated from the rest of his comrades, being left alone to hear the voice of some creepy lady he did not know of could only make one become so anxious.

Things had become quiet after a while, but it was a tense type of solitude. There was always this suspenseful sensation that he was being watched – that if he were to falter a single time, something, whatever horror it may be, will be just about ready to take his life.

This feeling sent a shiver through his spine – being alone was enough, but the tension in the air enveloping him slowed his booming heartbeat. His steps were steady, but heavy to his body – almost numb, even. No matter how many times he reassured himself that he was just inside a school gym and in a room designed by students younger than him, he couldn't free himself of the standing he felt himself in,

A target.

The sound of weeping caused him to gasp and jolt from his steps and hit his back at one of the walls – subsequently, part of that wall moved slightly, which he glanced over to in mild caution.

Once he'd breathed out to relax himself just a little, he hesitantly searched the area he was in for the sound's source. Taking in some of his surroundings, it was still dark, but there was enough light from a lamp somewhere high upon one of the walls. It was a dim, white lamp that appeared to lose life any moment now, but it was good enough for him to perceive an open space – a clearing of some sort, perhaps. And it was just as he thought; there he saw what looked to be a girl whose head and face were hidden by a white hood wearing a Kimono that matched the color. She was weeping and crying out for help in such a somber manner that accorded with how she walked.

"_Someone…please…help me…save my baby…"_ her voice sounded old and underused – like a frail, homeless grandmother in search for a family that had abandoned her.

Any idiot would be able to comprehend how sketchy the woman was – what with the visible blood stains upon the bottom part of her kimono, the boy could already tell that this would become nothing but bad news to him. Thinking as quickly as he could, he swiftly hid in the dark shadow behind a wall to spy on her and probably lie low until she moved along.

_Badump…...Badump…... Badump…...Badump..._

That was all he could hear.

The seconds drifted by slow and relentlessly for the goon as he took notice of how the unknown woman kept on the lookout for any sign of movement – similar to how a ruthless monster would in search of an intruder in its nest. But fortunately for him, it seemed she was walking towards the direction away from him. He then heaved an inaudible sigh once he made sure she was about to walk away.

No action could have been more regretful.

Sharply, the woman turned a heel and looked towards the exact direction of where he was – having the large boy's body jolt like he'd been electrocuted. Upon impulse, he moved to hide himself behind the wall completely; he even refused to take more or less a peek any longer. That's because in that mere split-second, despite the hood concealing the rest of her face away from the world, their eyes met. They were ravenous, savage, yet adept – but only in such a way that those pair of blue orbs was exceptionally erudite about the art of slaughter.

Eyes were wide as he clutched his heaving chest from the turmoil that bound his body from making anymore movements. He began to feel lightheaded – most probably due to the lack of blood his slow heartbeat was able to suffice him with.

_Tap __Tap __Tap _**_Tap Tap_**

He could almost feel the way all his limbs numbed in a single instant the moment his ears picked up on footsteps getting closer…and closer…

Bracing himself, his eyes snapped shut and tight – whether he was preparing himself for any form of impact, or saw it as a way of protecting himself in the most desperate manner, he was unsure of. But all he knew was that—…

The impact never came, and dead air followed.

Bit by bit, he opened his eyes and, ever so reluctantly, spared the small clearing a glimpse. He then registered that the woman had disappeared. Stepping out cautiously while turning his head about, he found no trace of her leaving nor being there in the first place. The strangeness of the scene caused his jaw to tighten from worry. Finding this risky for many reasons, he stuttered out with a low, shaky voice "I-I think it's best if I just mo-move along—"

Right when he was going to leave the area for good, he gasped as he felt a lump under his shoe. With a sharp inhale of breath, he jerked his foot away – the tension dissipating however, when he became conscious of what the object was: a bundle of cloth wrapped around in such a fashion a baby would.

The daft boy raised his brow at the item as a cold bead of sweat dropped by the side of his head. A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth before he picked it up "Oh, it was just this…" he muttered exasperatedly to no one in particular as he tried to inspect the ostensibly harmless material by removing the cloth hiding it.

He takes it back; this was a more regretful action.

A bump had gotten stuck in his throat as he nearly choked on his own breath with his gasp – his heart even felt like it'd been hammered once to stop as he suffered a sickening twist from his stomach that made him want to belch.

What he had come face to face with was a skinless, skull-like face like it had been ripped off of him intentionally – with a pair of eyeballs that were practically raking at his spirit. In his hands he held what appeared to be a god of death; even worse when—

_"Oh my, so you've found my baby…"_

The lamp started to flicker.

Albeit hearing it only once, he recognized that voice – but there was a certain, more taunting ring to it now. It was no longer that of helplessness, but it sounded more _amused_ to him.

_Amused at the thought of gutting you_ – this absentminded thought had caused him to freeze in place, but not as much as the cold, aggressive hand that grabbed his shoulder did. _"Thank you dear boy, you're a blessing to this world…"_ she was breathing quite heavily as she said this; even the grip she had on his shoulder shook as if she were tired from something, but that didn't stop her crude nails from digging into the cloth of his uniform.

Bemused by this, he fell to the temptation brought about by his curiosity and looked over his shoulder – catching the sight of dark, disheveled hair, which blocked its bearer's facial features. Her chest was moving up and down from the gradual intensity of which; almost like she was hyperventilating.

The boy felt the need to say something, but it was as if his own voice didn't exist anywhere in his throat anymore – especially when her breathing steadily transformed into chuckles.

A second hand had grabbed his other shoulder as her chuckles became more powerful to the point her shoulders were rocking up and down. In no time at all, she had begun to laugh rather vociferously; and it was at that moment the teenage boy dropped very thing in his trembling hands – his countenance at an absolute standstill, frozen with a look of fear, but he could not tear his eyes away.

_"__**Ah, I see you've seen his face…look…"**_she still breathed this out with much difficulty due to her ostentatious chortling, but she raised her face this time.

_"Have a look….__**Isn'T HE tHE CutEst ThING?"** with the sight of the madwoman's demented sadism evident in the way she grinned at him, he could practically feel his soul leave him as he locked stares with the scary woman's rabid, psychotic blue eyes._

Then without a doubt he knew… that he was the one that needed to cry for help in this situation.

On impulse, he shoved the girl away – who was in the middle of chortling to the point she had to hold her stomach and upturn her head due to the flexing of her spine – and ran away from her with all the adrenaline he had inside of him.

All he wanted was to get away. To leave; to be rid of this nightmare he walked right into – all that, he thought as trepidation wrapped around his mind like a spider's snack, and his chest wrenched painfully out of foreboding.

And all this, as his ears were ringing with the woman's bloodcurdling laughter.

"_ahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha! AHAHA_**_HAH_****_AH_****_AHA_****_! _****_AH_****_AHA_****_HAHAHAA_****_A_****_a_****_a_****_a…"_**

The two listened warily at the distant, yet deadly, cackling that came from a side of the room not too far from where they were. A few gulps were swallowed, but like they had been since getting separated from their rest of their group, they kept their composure even in the dark – carefully minding their surroundings and sharing a single goal: find the exit and get the hell out of there.

"O-Oi…what time is it?" one of them whispered; his tone was unsure and brimmed with nervousness.

The other checked his watch with its own light "We still have—"

_Jingle_

"_Are you ready yeeet~?" _and there came that same, spiteful voice again – echoing with an earsplitting ring to the high pitch she used. The goddess's manner of speech struck them as entertained; as expected of the sadism of Izanami.

Apparently, one was stupid enough to shout back a "Not yet!" earning him a backhand smack behind his head by his companion who whispered aggressively – with fright and annoyance all over his tone "IDIOT! You're giving away where we are!"

"But isn't that how you play hide and seek—"

"Not here you dumbass!"

"_Are you ready yeeet_~?" her voice seemed closer the second time around. This erupt a small panic with the two as the hurried forward yet remained mindful of what they were walking upon. Both were aware of the consequences if they were to panic (unlike a lot of them), even if the terror was practically eating away their insides.

Moments later, they stumbled upon a crossroads. After a few blinks were exchanged, the one who had reprimanded his companion earlier made a proposal "Okay. You go that way," he pointed to the right "And I'll go the other way."

"Alright." Just as he was about to go, it dawned him "W-Wait a minute…"

"What now?"

"Something's not right…like they _want_ to get us separated…"

_"Ready or not, __**here I come**__~"_

Both felt a bone-chilling sensation move up their spines like a nest of tiny ants. And with that, he loudly whispered to order his cowardly friend "Just suck it up for a while and get on! We'll find the exit faster this way!" and in that note, he quickly sprinted from his current standing to the left side of the crossroads.

"B-Bu…Argh…" reluctantly and with grit teeth, he obeyed the command and briskly walked to his agreed direction of the intersection. Moments after he had done so though, he immediately regretted agreeing.

Being alone in a place such as this must be horrible – what with all the vexing decorations upon the walls in the specific path he took, one could only keep sane after being creeped to the bone by them. The artifacts on the wall included old Japanese dolls that were stitched with red thread; like those you'd often see if one were to play…

Solitary Hide and Seek…

_AAAAAHHH!_

_AHAHAHAHAHA!_

His body jerked and nearly hit a wall at the sudden noises of frightened screams and maniacal laughter – those which didn't belong to anyone he knew. Or at least, that's what he would like to think. They were coming from various directions; as if they were being sounded to tease and torture him. These noises were followed by the sounds of someone being strangled, slit by the throat, and other incomprehensible gurgles he did not want to think about; add up the uncanny decorations all hanging on the walls gathering dust and cobwebs, his mind had been pulled to a fretful frenzy.

As a result of that, he had failed to take notice of a simply made rope trap which grabbed his foot. And with a thud, he flinched when he came in contact with the cold, hard floor.

_"Oh? Is that where you are?"_

A sharp inhale of oxygen entered his lungs – he'd given away his position.

Panic surged through his body like he'd been shot by a defibrillator as a high pitched squeal escaped his throat when he ran off in agitation.

_Swish_

_Swash_

There those sounds were again. He had been the first to catch them earlier before all this chaos had happened to them; and now he could feel whatever it is that made such a sound following him. If he were to turn from side to side in his hysterical hurry, he would notice two black figures tailing him. He didn't even need to stare and scrutinize for too long to sense that two pairs of deadly eyes were locked on him.

Another _swish_ and a _swash_ – they sounded like spiders; ever ready to feed, but much too entertained with chasing the poor ant down.

However, like some miraculous coincidence, he read the letters spelling 'EXIT' just on top of a door he found in the next hallway he turned to. He felt as if, if anyone allowed it, he could drown in his own tears of joy upon landing his eyes on the angelic exit he was closing in on.

_BAM_

Finally there, he realized the door was flat upon the wall – a mere image to fool him. Any thought of salvation that budded within his mind had died along with his hopes of getting free of this mental torment he voluntarily waltzed into. And whilst he experienced firsthand how fast one's blood can get drained out of a body just by sheer hopelessness and terror, the shamisen's uncanny tune followed by the jingles of the shrine bells hastened its effects. But not more than when—

_"I'm cooooooommmiiiiinggg~"_ the goddess sung with a brief giggle thereafter.

That's when he freaked out.

With a growing paranoia, he slammed the fake door with both fists before clumsily – due to the wobbling of his knees – scampering away. He had no direction whatsoever, but if his legs got him away from there, then he would most certainly take that chance to do so.

Then he felt his skin get hit with many objects – mainly cobwebs. The stickiness and ticklishness felt icky upon his cold, numb flesh, but even still, he ran. Trying to resist his inescapable fate, he slammed his palms to his ears and shut his eyes tightly – but even as he tried to outrun them, somewhere deep down, he knew he was doomed. That's because…

The spiders were chasing him again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Kei? He must've gotten into one of those traps…"

Looking back at what he had already gone through – such as multiple tripwires, cobweb shots and jumpscares that went _Nyuruhuhuhuhu_ – he felt his forehead bead with sweat at the used traps he'd oh so shamefully fallen for. After walking a while, he had taken an observation to the sources of light of the room. There was no mistaking it, there were lamps, but dim ones, located in some hidden areas or simply above the pathway to lead the way. Of course, they wouldn't be able to have a fair game if everything was just dark – someone could get really hurt.

But even with this mindset, he continued to mutter reassurances to himself – mainly "They can't hurt you, they can't hurt you, they can't hurt you." He'd been chanting this over and over for what felt like minutes since he and his companion decided to part ways. Really, choosing to go alone had to be one of his worst decisions yet.

"Hah-AH!" Lost in his thoughts, he nearly missed the next trap he was about to fall into – luckily for him, he'd been able to familiarize himself with the pattern of these already and their probable hiding places. He stumbled forward to avoid the piece of metal that he knew was but a (literal) stepping stone to some other trick. Whatever it was, he didn't bother to have his curiosity take over.

"That was close…" he spent a few moments to stare at the evaded material and relish in his relief – that could've gotten a lot worse had he not—

_"I can hear youuu…"_

In an instant, he knew his relief was only fleeting – having him gulp the lump in his throat as he tried to calm himself. His palms were sweaty, his collar felt tight around his neck as he tried to loosen it, and he desperately tried to convince himself that he would leave the area unhurt. Even if there were multitudes of screams and laughter overlapping one another in every direction his ears picked up.

The pace in his steps had increased as did the loudness of his muttering – but that did not let the galling noises piercing through his ears cease. Having had enough, he slapped the sides of his face "MAKE IT STOP!"

Apparently, his wish had come true; but not in the way he had planned it. The feeling of a rather durable string lined on his torso had restricted him from moving forward. When he came to his senses, he realized it really was a string – only it resembled a thread from a spider's spool.

"Wha…?" he mumbled, flabbergasted and let his eyes follow where the string led to. Only, this state of confusion quickly transitioned to a face of stupefaction, for at the end of the string that blocked his path just happened to be a door;

A door that led to his freedom, seeing as there was light just beneath it. For seconds, he froze in his spot, completely awestruck; like he had just come from the depths of hell and now the angels have come to pick him up from his suffering. Soon enough, the hopeless idiot's grin stretched from ear to ear as he called out "Guys! I found an—" – then a thought had cut him off right when he slapped a hand to his mouth.

_Idiot! If I call them that'll be giving away my position…and then they're gonna find me. If they do I'll have to pay them outside once this is over. Not to mention…_ a drop of nervous sweat came down his forehead and gradually dripped down to his neck _Waiting for them to go to me means I'll have to stay for so much longer…_

Visualizing the worst possible outcome (especially the one that involved his wallet), with only mild hesitance he swallowed and laughed with only a hint of nervousness "Nice knowing ya, boys!" he announced to no one – overjoyed by his luck as he followed the string with his almost tearful eyes at the door. His breath hitched with hysterical laughter as the proximity between him and his freedom increas—

_Snap_

He knew it was too good to be true in the end. Although he knew, he couldn't find it in himself to have his completely dumbstruck expression tear away from the broken string that tauntingly glided down until it soundlessly came in contact with the floor.

It had been knifed – slashed by one that flew out of nowhere before he could get to it. Judging from his viewpoint, the knife wasn't all that sharp, but it pierced _deeply_ into the wood of the wall he was next to. Deep enough to actually wound someone; but what was more unsettling was how it perfectly hit its mark. Whoever had thrown it had to be skilled at that art – and he hesitantly let his eyes move to the corner to have a glimpse of that whoever.

In the shadows of the pathway to his left stood what appeared to be Samurai of the ancient periods. His hat blocked the upper half of his face – such is the style most would put on when about to commit a murder; a slick, quick yet deadly one. Prominent on his chest was the presence of blood oozing from the katana that still impaled him. He could only gape at the sight as the samurai stepped closer and closer – playing with his knives with swift movements of his wrist.

Finally, he wasn't sure if it was just his paranoia, but even in when lost in darkness he could not miss the toxic death glare that peered at him with animosity just when the mysterious warrior lifted his chin a tad. His shrunken, blue orbs quivered – wild and vicious to the point that it can be compared to how a person's eyes would look when forced to watch TV all night without blinking.

"GAH!" A screech escaped him half a second after another knife had hurled towards him. With a loud _thud_, the blade sunk into the wall just inches away from his cheek. Panic-stricken laughter involuntarily came from his mouth when he realized his demise was about to be brought upon him and decided to run away, screaming…

But knowing the Samurai was still following him…

* * *

"**_AHAHAHAHAHAAA!"_**

She was still laughing when he had already outrun her – he couldn't even decipher which way the laughter was coming from anymore as there were multiple snickers, guffaws and horrified shrieks from every direction he could think of. And things were just worse when he heard the cadaverous musings of the goddess of the maze,

_"Don't think you can run from meee…"_

He refused to let that distract him though; no matter what he had to get himself out. After encountering that creepy woman with the macabre child just earlier, he would care less about driving whoever was in charge of the place out of business – these were his exact thoughts the second he finally found the most phenomenal object in the planet…

An Exit.

He felt as if his eyes were deceiving him – the thought of seizing his freedom felt like a miracle. However, before he could sprint in a frenzied fashion towards the large door, he stopped and nobly pounded a fist to his chest "No, I must not abandon my friends!"

_Whack_

Such nobility had instantaneously shattered after he had witnessed an object shot at the nearest wall. In stimulus, he let his eyeballs aversely move down to have a look at it and found a…baby doll; the nasty, nightmarish kind. He'd already been traumatized by babies as it was, but this one had red thread stitched across its stomach up to the center of its head. Its lightning blue eyes – reminiscent of the woman he'd come by in his first minutes of venturing alone – were like daggers pointed directly at him, yet they were accompanied by red lipstick formed into a grin; a wide one, at that. Somehow, just by staring at it, his ears picked up a faint music box tune which held a spectral ring to it. And after what felt like minutes of unending fear that creeped and crawled back and forth his spine, he decided he didn't want to deal with this again and exclaimed—

"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" he ran towards the door in the most pathetic way possible; which, as a result, got him to mindlessly tread upon a trap, having him stumble. The last thing he saw fly before he hit the floor was a bag of chips as he heard a—

**_PWI!_**

Then there, out of the shadows flew out the most ridiculous looking animal he'd seen in his lifetime – plummeting towards his face until he dodged it by diving to the floor. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" he cried in terror and ran in the opposite direction of the exit in a surge of panic.

The woman who pursued him earlier sat back with a satisfied smile upon the door of the Exit – nodding in approval at the small animal that fumed with rage evident in the smoke that came from its nostrils.

Cries of desperation and anguish came out of the frantic figure that ran across each pathway of the maze he could cross. His eyes were shut tightly; it was clear in the way he screamed that he'd had enough and that all he wanted to do was go home and end this torment. Later on, he ran in the middle of an intersection where he felt himself get bumped by two other large characters from both of his sides – causing all three to fall in a tangle of limbs to the hard ground. In the dark, they had gotten into a manic frenzy; punching and kicking each other like how men did back in the Stone Age.

"You're not taking me!"

"OW! You'll pay for—Wait, hah?" seemed they'd come to their senses after someone actually got punched in the jaw – causing a _crack_ that had them cease moving for a while and come to an understanding that they were acting more stupid than usual for a full 15 seconds. For the next moments, they were hit with relief that it was just the idiots they spent everyday with; and now that they weren't so separated, they could easily get to the ex—

_"I can _**_see youuu…_**_"_

That same coo all had been haunted by came back to instill the fright of being apprehended back in them. In their individual happenstances with the beings of the labyrinth, they had learned the hard way that their initial plan before going here was not worth it, and that going here had to be one of the paramount mistakes of their lives now and the next.

Not wishing to have a continuation of the affliction they've already experienced, they attempted to make a run for it – only they ended up toppling over each other's feet and falling back down to the floor in unison.

_"Huh? Where did you go?"_

* * *

It had so happened that the three of them had landed through a black curtain and fell into another room; indecorously pushing each other away to be able to sit up straight. Nonetheless, even in this small, isolated room that looked to be away from the dangers of the maze they came from, not even a fraction of a second for respite had been spent.

For looks can be deceiving – especially when you have a man dressed in a red cloak behind a table holding out two pieces of paper on a low, Japanese-style table.

"_So, what'll it be? Blue? Or __**red?**__" _the tone of voice that came from the pitch black of his cloak was treacherous yet taunting – like some evildoer trying to swindle his condemned clients to sink to their own end willingly.

Immediately, one of them yelped as all of them jerked back, but not enough to actually leave the room. Pure malice and evil were practically oozing from the stranger in front of them – keeping any of them from moving an inch and involuntarily having them clutch to each other like how they would with their mothers.

_"Well?" _the cloaked man prodded – his obviously impish grin being the only thing they could see under the shadow of his hood.

"W-what do we do now?" one of them whispered – overwhelmed with fright to even stop the trembling in his voice.

"Hold on, I think I know this – if we answer any of them he's gonna kill us either way…"

"Then what _are_ we supposed to answer?" the other demanded in a whisper a little louder than the other two's – frustration laced in his panicked tone.

The cloaked man only watched with a frown as they whispered among themselves – eyeing them in such a way that he found them despicable for a number of seconds as he raised an eyebrow at their antics. Somehow, his expression depicted that he found this too easy of a target for him and was way too hungry for their tortured cries to wait this long. However, he put on a grin once more when they ended their discussion and faced him.

"No paper."

At that, they saw how mercury eyes narrowed a tad "_Heeehh…"_

Gulps came from the throats of the three after he spoke to them. Not only was he really threatening, but if there were any better word to describe him, then it would be the vaguest term to say he was the epitome of scary – even more so the moment he started tapping his finger upon the papers sprawled on the table that separated them.

_Tap…...Tap…...Tap…...Tap…..._

In those tense seconds of awaiting the red cloak's answer, each had different desires forming in their minds. Like going home – screaming and running away and whatnot just to end it all.

Too bad, they feel the guy in front of them _can_ and _will_ murder them.

"_After you lot were more than ready to abandon each other, you sit there in front of me acting all buddy-buddy with your answer? ...__**Don't mess with me**__."_ He said that last part with a deeper, more bilious tone in his voice. Drops of sweat drenched the faces of the three goons out of guilt and of course, fear.

They were caught red-handed – that was what they had realized when the stranger finally showed his face by lifting his head. The pale-gold eyes from earlier now looked like slits – demonic ones under the dark of his hood; and that alone would've been enough to kill them then and there, but he had to speak with the most horrid type of acid as he said—

"**_Do YOu ReAlLy ThINK I'lL FORgiVe tHat?_**"

And everyone's skin turned cold at that –the numbness of their bodies could be felt even as the hairs behind their neck prickled up. They were struck with a spear that impaled them with a toxic that fumed their cowardice; so by impulse, they scrammed from the small room in a heartbeat before the devil before them could get a hold of them.

Upon leaving though, they were faced with something so much more unbelievable. Jaws dropped, courage shattered, and eyes wide, each of them was only able to utter out absentmindedly-

"N-No way…"

"The set…!"

"…i-it…CHANGED?!" there was no doubting it – the walls were not in the same place they were before they entered. The more they took in their surroundings, the more lost and hopeless they felt for they recognized none of it; but that's not all, for they also then observed the orange light of fire they had spotted coming from about two walls behind them. From that, they knew somehow were much closer to the center of the labyrinth –where Izanami was…

"_Oh! I see you again~" _speak of the devil, there came a chime from her again – a louder one now that they were dangerously nearby.

**_"AHAHAHAHA!"_**

And things just got worse just when they had been cornered with the hostile glare of a Samurai with knives to their left, and a madwoman that staggered to them in a psychotic manner – her cackling nearly finishing off whatever air she still had in her lungs. Together they closed in on the three; with knives swiveling on both wrists of a man with dishonor and ear-piercing laughter of some lady that lost her child, they met their doom by finishing it off with—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"We've been running in circles for minutes!" yelled Takeo to his companion as the two's breathing hitched from running.

_Swash_

_Swish_

They were being tailed by the two unknown figures they'd been trying to escape for a while now – through air, no less. The means of travel they used appalled them, since when could a bunch of students afford such gear? But such a question was set aside for the time being as, of course, staying alive was more important. The presences that continued to chase them were spider-like; not just in the ammo they'd been shot at which were cobwebs or…other unnerving things, but with the way they moved across the dark with such skill – like a duo of skilled assassins.

Just as the two of them had come to realization of the illusion and hologram paper that caused them to take rounds all over the same area, both skidded to a stop with the squeak of their shoes upon the cement. They panted and held onto their knees for support. For a while, they thought they got away since a thick silence soon came over them; they couldn't have outrun them that easily, and this paranoia seemed to grow within one of them as he cried out almost pitifully "Le-Let's just call it a loss and wait 'til it's over—!"

_AAAAAAHHH!_

_AHAHAHAHAHA! _

He listened to the noises that swam across the room in a wild and uncontrolled fashion. The sounds of strangling, gurgles, and various types of torture he didn't even want to imagine could be received – and that's when he reached his breaking point and slapped his ears shut with his palms and screamed.

"GAH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT ANYMORE I'M OUT OF HERE—" the tough act he had on upon entering had absolutely destroyed itself. And before he could make a break for it and just hide himself until their time limit was up, he'd been forcefully grabbed from behind from his shirt – having him stumble a bit.

"What do you think you're doing!? Be a man and suck all this up! There's no way they'd actually make you _die _in here!" he was furious – and probably the only one so far that hadn't been stricken by fear since they've arrived. Startled, surprised and confused, yes, but not to the point of actually getting afraid of something.

"B-But then! The other guys—! You can hear them screa—!"

"To hell with the other guys! They're just idiots that can't tell what's real from what isn't! It's not like they can do anything to—"the sound of a piece of slightly heavy metal interrupted the abusive, one-sided argument the large boys were having – consequently causing them to look where the sound had come from.

"Oh, woops." Came an unknown voice from the void of darkness behind them. This was then followed by a few slow and easy footsteps that stopped in front of the item which appeared to be a flashlight.

Both of them could only watch as the unknown figure picked it up so casually and even accidentally turned it on – revealing to them his face, or lack thereof, for half of it had been curtained by locks of dark hair. In less than a second, one of them shrieked just in sync with a scream that came from somewhere else.

"AAAAHH! MALE SADAKO!" he then thrashed out of his group leader's hold and scampered away from them – his wobbly knees almost making him trip in the darkness.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Takeo chased after the scared goon's form and they both disappeared into the next wall – leaving behind two types of snipers: an offended one and a very entertained one.

"Alright, now that was just uncalled for…" behind the shaggy-haired boy, the orangehead tried her best to hold her laughter.

* * *

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" demanded the bulky leader that got every one of his gofers into this mess in the first place as he once again roughly grabbed his accomplice by his shoulders – yelling into his ears "What do you think you're doing?! Stop being such a shitty little wimp and—"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" there was a wild glint in his eye as he attempted to thrash his so-called leader away – which only fueled the larger boy's anger more "How dare you—!"

"I've always despised you! _Everyone_ has!" the expression he had on now was hostile – eyes clouded with both agitation and frustration towards the insolent behavior the man that seized him always displayed. Upon hearing this, Takeo only managed a "Wha…" which remained under his breath as the one who he thought was once his friend continued to shout "You think we've been following you out of respect?! GET REAL! The only reason we're all still sticking by is so we can die laughing the minute you fall to your pathetic knees and realize you're nothing but a sore loser who'll die all alone! So GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" with one last violent shove, Takeo finally let go and felt his back slam to the wooden wall while the pattering steps of someone he used to call friend went further and further away. Left in shock, he merely remained – a wide-eyed stare etched to the floor.

Meanwhile, the other, who had left him –whether it was just paranoia or not – could still sense the impression of being chased as he looked back over his shoulder for a brief glimpse. With this small action however, he had failed to pay attention to wherever he was scurrying off to and ended up tripping over a doll left unattended on the floor.

A painful "Agh!" resounded as it bounced from the floor to the wide space all over. From what he'd felt, he had fallen through a black curtain and ended up in another room; a brighter one…

It didn't take long for him to apprehend his standing nor to answer the question of where he was; for the instance he raised his head up, he felt as if he could pee his pants at the first sight he had been welcomed with. And with a wicked witch's grin and red eyes of the most notorious sadist to ever walk upon Earth, the woman whose feet he had fallen in front of uttered in deathly triumph,

"**_I fOuND yOU_**."

_Jingle_

On impulse, he jolted about half a meter backwards from shock – feeling himself bump into three other trembling figures that could not find it in themselves to tear away from the superior entity in front of them. This time, they could clearly hear the Shamisen's tunes playing rather uncontrollably; it was psychopathic, even. From the looks of his surroundings, there were large torches scorched with orange flames situated on both sides of a wide stage –Japanese artifacts and stray yards of cloth were at disarray around it. And yet the lady towering over their cowardly figures perfectly fit into the background – particularly with the large adornment hanging behind her witchlike character. The first thing they took into account was the dusty, dry smiling face – a moon-like grin upon a yellowish, round head. The entire thing lacked moisture and looked shriveled; specifically its eight tentacle-like arms underneath the teacher's uniform it had on for it appeared to have been drained of all its life. It hung over her like a prize – something like what hunters would do to the monsters they'd slain. And this was a monster. By all of this they knew that it was too late,

They were in the center – Izanami's domain.

_Jingle _her head piece rang as she stepped toward them; the closer she got though, the harder it got for them to move. That's because, whether it was due to the fright or something beyond it, this woman in front of them was hypnotically beautiful.

After a giggle, she said "**_I won~_**" and with that, a _clunk_ fell to the floor not far from them. Even though the four of them were still petrified, that didn't stop them from seeing their leader get dropped to the ground by a red-cloaked man and a bloody Samurai.

"T-Takeo!" one of them called out to the boy who had been sprawled out on the floor quite indelicately – though there was a hint of disheartenment with how he did not even retort nor react violently like he usually did. Observing this, three of the members blinked in mild confusion. The goddess' voice somehow commanded them to face her again however.

_"Oh! Since I won, __**let's have a penalty game**__~!" _and in not less than a second, the other beings of this maze had surrounded the area in a circle – blocking any means of escape. It felt as if they were caged – that this was their mere fate and had no choice but to accept it. So as a result, eyes were shut tight as each held their head as if asking for mercy; save for Takeo, though, since he seemed to be much too depressed to do anything but stare at the floor.

"_Well then, here is my punishment—Mm?" _ she cut herself off and hummed with question toward the one that abruptly rose to his feet. The atmosphere in the room had nearly been broken with his sudden move as an uncanny silence came about – all members of the room but looked his way and simply waited for any action.

"Izanami-sama…" he started low with a rather hoarse voice; his eyes not leaving the glossy cement he stepped on. And with clenched fists and agony written all over his features and shaky shoulders, he knelt down before her.

"Earlier, I insulted my comrades by calling them idiots that did not know what was real from what wasn't. But in this twisted zone of treachery I have come to realize that I am the man most befitting of that insult…" as more formal words left his mouth, his other friends could only blink; bug-eyed and very much perplexed by his actions. On the other hand, this had taken aback the members of the attraction for they were used to having people too scared to do anything at this point. The one who played Izanami spared a sharp yet stealthy glance to one of them to indicate her confusion, but in the end, she ended up going with what he said when he bowed down before her – heck, even hugged her legs as he almost sobbed "I am but a lowlife worth less than dirt in the glory of your eyes, but I would humbly ask you to grant me a wish – I beg you to take me away from this world and into the netherlands!"

Izanami could only afford to blink a small number of times; but other than that, she paid him no particular reaction as she cupped his cheek and had him look up at her hopefully. The rest only watched – stunned at the scene (inclusive of the goddess' company).

_"I cannot grant your wish…" _she spoke smoothly – with a voice deep yet beguiling as she went on, she kept a grin that masked evil upon her features "_That is because you are not worthy of such a privilege."_ At her words, Takeo finally felt a tear escape his wide, dejected eyes.

"_Return to me when you have proven your worth, and I will eagerly grant you that honor with great rewards. So for now…__**I ask of you…**__"_ her sass and smiling face dissipated in a heartbeat just as her voice deepened with a threatening glow in her narrowed, bug-like red eyes. In that same moment, the other beings of the maze held the four goons back – their 'leader' doing their job for them by frantically crawling back to where they were.

"**_Child of man…_**" she bewitchingly stepped towards them – the background of a dead, dried up monster making the view even scarier to them. "**_Whom was brought about in this world by your tainted ascendants…_**" she crouched to the group the soonest time she got close enough to be level with the eyes of her prey – the wicked witch in her doing the magic of petrifying them, yet having them oddly anticipate what she was about to do. "**Do yOU kNoW** **WhaT yOuR sIN iS**_?_"

Ever so elegantly, she leaned in to whisper loud enough for just those five to hear "**_That is…_**

**_The Fact That You Exist."_** her words were like cold daggers that fell and pierced through them like an icicle shaken from the ceiling – they hit hard, cold, and painfully, which led them to almost actually be convinced of such words. Their faces flushed and turned pale as their hearts had stopped – frozen and in too much shock and trepidation overwhelming whatever reason they had left in their brains.

In those uncertain set of moments, Izanami lifted an object from under her sleeve and muttered to them one last time,

_"So pay the consequence…"_

And everything went black.

* * *

Eventually, when time ran out, the five bulky students that thought they had been poisoned by chloroform (but really were just so scared they thought it was) were carried out of the room by Chiba and Karma and sent to a clubroom that offered a 'sleeping booth' – but not without them paying, of course.

A series of delighted hums came from the registration table just in front of the huge school gym. Mikagura Midori was seated in a laid-back manner as she finished counting their sales so far with a smirk – setting each wad of cash back inside the metal box and stacking it above the first one, which was already packed – overflowing, even. They apparently had to run to another club to borrow more boxes for a place to keep all the money that came and that was to come; and the bespectacled teacher saw every logical reason why as she smiled at the long line that awaited their turn to come inside. Though she was assigned to man the club's attraction during the PM hours only, she could already see some students lining back up – eager to go again.

A long sigh of contentment escaped her lips– all the more satisfied when her ears picked up the faints yet agonized screams of the last students that registered come from the inside of the room. She stretched back in her seat and yawned; knowing that things here on out were about to be a breeze.

Her short moment of satisfaction had been interrupted however, when she observed by the corner of her eye two figures approaching her from the left – important figures too. Nevertheless, this only made her smirk stretch wider as she sat properly and acknowledged them.

"Oh, how do you do, Kazuya?" she said this ever-so-casually to the tall, dark-haired man that only looked down at her – a stone-faced expression in reply to her enthusiastic grin. The woman behind him – who seemed to be his secretary what with her uniform and generic glasses + bun combo – did not take such a greeting so nonchalantly.

"H-How dare you address the headmaster of Kimii that way?!" she yelled as she fixed her round spectacles – quite outraged and restless as she nearly dropped the files in her hold.

"Oh, Yuricchi-chan~! Your bags got deeper." She cheekily commented as she beamed up at the not-so-friendly secretary. Despite such a remark being a kick-starter to getting her fired, she felt no shame or fear about it. Besides, it's just a sleep-deprived secretary no one in the faculty liked.

"D-DON'T CALL ME THAT!" the haggard woman stomped a heel down on the rough cement – her glasses nearly falling off.

"Eh? But isn't that your real name?" Mikagura cocked her head to side in mock innocence – it was evident through the pout that she was having too much fun with this.

"Mikagura…You…!" The secretary named Yuricchi's blood was boiling. Her teeth were grit tightly and her glare was so strong it hurt as rage seethed from her shaking fists and tensed shoulders. All the orange-haired teacher did was leave her that way as she turned her attention back to the school authority in front of her – resting her chin above her intertwined fingers.

"Well then, Kazuya-_sama_. Why is it you've come?" she had the nerve to speak to him in such a coy manner and raised her eyebrows. She had never really been in bad terms with the headmaster, but thanks to those kids, she felt a little more powerful – the aura of 'I am the teacher-supervisor of this group of kids bow to me' radiated from her vigorously.

The headmaster, Sakishima Kazuya, did not waste time to mind how one of his employees was acting (because he didn't exactly care; not one bit) and took a few moments to study the gym and its incoming audience. He took notice of the plain signs that were posted, the reactions written on each face – and of course such a man would have keen enough hearing to catch what may have been going on inside. His perceptive, judgmental eyes went from corner to corner, from sign to sign, and from person to person as he made his own mental evaluation.

"This is your combat club's attraction?" he said with professionalism – his words were clear-cut and made no time for nonsense; just the type of man he was.

"Why, of course."

Just then, the annoying secretary interrupted the conversation again "Combat club?! Those disgraceful, poorly conducted students that have done nothing but shame the Kimii reputation?!"

"Yeah, sure. You can call them that too." Mikagura had to admit herself that these weren't the best students out there as she deadpanned – emerald eyes staring at the far wall. Even she gets irritated when she finds one of them not in her class and wreaking havoc who knows where.

"Tch. Outrageous! Why were those bu-buffoons given the privilege of the school's gym when it could have been used for more exceptional clubs?! Like the Karuta club! All thanks to _your _students they were just left with the volleyball court! Their audiences must be—"

"Yuricchi. Stay quiet for a while." The powerful man commanded monotonously; without even sparing her a glance.

"Y-YES SIR!" her absolute obedience to the man had her straighten up and had her even drop some files as she fixed her glasses. This scene never failed to have Mikagura chuckle and smirk at her sardonically – this office assistant had been head over heels in love with her boss since who knows when.

"Well then, Headmaster Kazuya? You seem to be in deep contemplation." She raised her eyebrows at him – he was staring at one of the posters hung on the roof of the entrance with his ice-like eyes. Still continuing his observations, he said sternly, "Kimii's Annual Fiesta focuses on the showcasing of the different club's fortes and talents. Do tell me how a horror staging is related to combat?"

"Eh? It's very combat-related if you ask me." The science teacher spoke in a tone that made gave the impression she was stating the obvious.

"How so?"

Mikagura felt another smirk at the question as had her green eyes upturned to him cunningly – leaning her chin into intertwined hands.

"All they have to do is show off what they have as a club, right? Most would think that a club like theirs would hold a tournament of the sort just like most fight clubs, but these students were creative enough to devise a plan like this – a big one, at that."

"I'm listening." He prodded her to continue with a raised eyebrow – some mild interest coming up on his features as he rested a hand in his pocket.

"Combat isn't just about fighting and offensives – the members of this club have proved that without fail. There are different ways combat can be manifested. In order to do that, they should be innovative, strategic – able to look at things outside of the box, and have the ability to manipulate their desired targets however way they want to. Almost like real assassins, if you ask Me." raising a sly eyebrow, the last four words were said in a deeper voice for emphasis before continuing her explanation.

"With what they were able to pull off in a month, the brilliance in these students could not be overlooked. With each of their individual talents, they've created _quite_ the attraction for our dear students of Kimii."

* * *

"**AAHAHAHAHA!**_"_

_"Nakamura Rio. She's exceptionally quick-witted and gifted in more ways than one – living up to the title of genius, even."_

Rio had caught another group of prey within her control – and she was enjoying the perfect number of scores she earned today with her scaring techniques as she watched her last victim scurry away, screaming.

_"She's strategic, skilled, and makes a good rhythm with her teammates. Her playfulness and way with people makes it hard to not give her your attention – which makes her a fine champion when fighting on the frontlines. She may have a bad habit of getting bored easily, but that doesn't stop her from bringing the life to the party."_

A lazy yet satisfied smirk came about on her face whilst she picked up the 'God of Death' baby she designed herself (with help from Chiba and advice from Sugaya).

_"Her specialty, you ask? Well, harassment can be one of them… But when the situation calls for it, her guts and initiative is something to behold."_

Just as she was patting dust away from the doll, she had stopped abruptly at a particular sound that signaled her to start running off to the next target she was instructed to go for.

"_She was also the one who came up with the idea of their cultural fest attraction along with Hayami Rinka."_

Two snipers exchanged a nod before maneuvering their separate ways to catch a few students that attempted to outwit them. For a while, she watched and tailed her target with the _swish swash _of her gear. Rinka always kept a stone-face whenever she 'worked' (performed assassinations), but that did not mean she did not feel at least a hair of excitement and enjoyment from watching the 3rd year male student get frightened by her presence.

_"She and her partner Chiba Ryuunosuke possess such unbelievable skill with marksmanship you would think they had scopes for eyes. Though there is not much distinction between the two's capability as snipers, the girl has great kinetic vision and is very good at balancing the accuracy in her fingers."_

Her rifle was prepared and being carried around in both of her arms as she tried to aim – feeling some discomfort in doing so, she adjusted her position upside down and let her legs hug the wire she used for travel. Thanks to her flexible body, her legs held onto the wire as she hung upside down, but with her upper-body hoisted up a tad so she slightly mimicked a sniper's position on air. Last year, she wouldn't have been able to do something that extreme especially when she was merely hanging on a few wires attached to her belt and the small of her back. Most would deem this very dangerous equipment for high school students to even play with, but looks aside, it was safe and easy to move for the two of them. It may be just thanks to their assassination training, but to the two the gear was more convenient rather than a hamper.

_"What's more, her bullet never misses even in difficult positions. Whether she's twisted in some challenging angle or hanging the wrong way up, she'll surely be able to make her mark."_

Pleased at the startled reaction of the boy when she shot a ball of fake cobwebs, Rinka couldn't stop the smile of contentment from gracing her features as she smoothly performed a flip to get her back into a regular position.

_"Amazing as that already is, Chiba Ryuunosuke also has his outstanding spatial calculation skills to take note of."_

The dark-haired sniper stealthily chased his frantically running target – though he could spend some time to be amused at the woman (a college teacher from outside perhaps) and her responses to the traps she'd mindlessly fallen for, sniping had always meant business to him so he kept stoic. From the looks of it, she hadn't noticed that he was tailing her – good.

_"With his calm and serious nature, he can easily adjust his presence and make it so that he caught his foes by surprise."_

Chiba took advantage of the brief respite she took when she thought she was safe by taking one of the nearby eerie, stuffed animals and loading it into the specially calibrated gun.

_"With his wide range of vision gifted to him due to his sharp eyes – provided he possesses the patience of having to wait and watch his target, nothing escapes him."_

Without a shred of doubt with his aim, he fired the doll exactly in front of her seated form. Hearing her scream and run to the direction Sugino waited for her brought the pleasant feeling of success to him. Just according to plan.

"WAAAHHHH!" screeched the woman as she nearly tripped trying to evade the set of blunt knives that came her way – albeit them being intentionally too short of their target.

_"Sugino Tomohito. Not to be underestimated for his friendliness, but because of his good student, clean slate record, his ability to carry out the plans relayed to him is either done perfectly or above average. He has a balance in all fields; whichever situation arises, he can rush to manage both frontlines and support from the rear. In that sense, despite the friendly behavior of the boy, he's a precious asset for combat."_

Sugino continued to swivel some of the knives in his hand as he had cornered two of their customers. The glare that he had been keeping up was beginning to hurt (much like how it did in their play last year), but he did not let that stop him from taunting the two ladies in front of him with the 'harmless' weapons in hand. He aimed in places only inches away from their bodies with the skill he had gained from both the assassination classroom and baseball.

_"His accuracy and specialty with melee weapons is all as a result from his love for baseball. With those well-developed skills he earned from the sport, his movements – especially with his wrists – are refined. He can easily hit whichever target he wishes much like the snipers. Only, his isn't from gifted vision, but more from all the hard work and practice he had put into batting and pitching."_

The spiky-haired boy that pretended to be a dishonored Samurai smiled to himself when he had gotten them to fall into a black curtain where his redheaded friend awaited them. He got his head back in the game, however, when the vibration in his ear and the voice that followed brought him back to reality and he ran to his next position.

_"And then there's another remarkable character in the group. Akabane Karma."_

"**So, what'll it be? Blue? Red? ****_Pick one only…_**_" _Karma didn't even need to exert much effort with scaring the group that came to him next. He wasn't sure if it was just because he was having way too much fun with this or his bloodlust was still fresh and had some more stock – both would probably do.

_"This venue wouldn't have been theirs had it not been for his exceptional smarts and people skills. His wit, guile and talent for bringing the right type of suffering to his victims had played a huge role in both the creation and execution of the labyrinth itself. He is able to outsmart almost anyone – which is why when designing the maze, he was able to predict the behavior of most people when their fear overcame their sense of reason. Not just that, but the boy, troublesome as he is, knows exactly how to instill terror into people without batting an eye all thanks to his past experiences with fighting."_

"**DoN'T ThInK I'Ll fOrGivE wHaT YoU JuST dId…**" and with that demonic expression being put on again, he only needed to lunge forward a little to get them to run the heck out of his room. Out of utter entertainment, he even waved goodbye to their retreating forms with a mock bright smile on his face – as if he were some convenience store clerk telling them to come again. Albeit the fact he can't really do anything to hurt anyone, their screams and expressions of fear as they try to answer him then eventually run away was enough for the sadistic boy.

_"But all would not have been successful had it not been for Fuwa Yuzuki."_

The exercise of coming up and down was a pain, but Yuzuki was glad the Gym had a small, second floor balcony for her to be able to see _everything_ in the venue. Without it, her role wouldn't have been as fun.

"Sugino-kun, to your left." She spoke quietly into the walkie-talkie – a careful eye still on the lookout for all the characters inside the room.

"_Roger._" He acknowledged quietly as well, but enough for her to hear his voice as she observed his form follow her instruction and carefully sneak up on his next target.

"Rio-chan, get ready."

"_Aye, ma'am~"_

She instructed again the more she observed. Even though it was dark down there, things were clearer from her area for she could easily see what was moving. Admittedly, her job was not as hard as the others as all she had to do was guide them through their own maze fairly yet mischievously – but not to the point that they would really prevent anyone from getting out or waiting it out.

As long as the customers weren't stuck-up bastards, that is.

_"Just by accompanying the club's victims for a short while, she is able to grasp an idea about their behaviors as well as perform critical observations with each group. Fuwa-san has notable deduction skills and a good memory. With that as her weapon, she can understand the nature of the victims that voluntarily follow her as she lures them in."_

"Karma-kun, they're coming to you. And hear this— Ah, excuse me," she cleared her throat and blocked the walkie talkie's mouthpiece "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Aside from being their guide, she also had to contribute to the sound effects that helped make the maze scarier – along with Sugino and Rio who were currently making strangling noises. Regaining her composure, she picked up the device again and continued "The girl earlier was spouting stuff about togetherness and how her whole group would get by. Yet they tried deciding by rock, paper, scissors their way out of here." She finished her bit of information with slight disappointment present in her eyes as she raised a brow. Well, at least she's seen worse compromises throughout the day so that wasn't the worst.

Karma only chuckled a bit from his end "_Hah. Guess I'll use that then_."

"Mm." Yuzuki nodded with agreement, but quickly gave her attention back to the maze – eyeing the two snipers and noticing their anticipation for an order from her. "Chiba-kun, Rinka, 3:00. And then…"

With her upper body nearly leaning over the edge of the balcony due to the adrenaline that brought about her utmost exhilaration, she instructed rather loudly "Change!"

And with that, she watched as the snipers coordinated with one another to rearrange half of the maze with mild struggle, but as speedily as they could – a triumphant grin on her features in awe and excitement at their consecutive successes in doing that. They did not always have to, but when the opportunity was there they seized without second-guessing.

"_And lastly, Okuda Manami – the deadliest poison of the group."_

"**I fOunD YoU~**" Manami had not known how she was doing it, but she was enjoying every bit of it – and she could feel the same delight emanating from each and every one of her clubmates. The first few times were nerve-wracking, but she had completely grasped and accepted the character she had put on for today like it had always been a part of her – it just never had the chance to come out. The wicked witch in her grinned at the next set of victims she was about to pass her so-called 'Judgment' on.

"_Not strong physically, but with her determination and love for science, she's just as deadly as everyone else. This is a girl that can easily get lost in whatever she's doing if she put her all into it. When she carries out what she wants to do wholeheartedly, there is a tendency that her powerful emotions can be instilled into a person if she tried hard enough – even to the point that it would become contagious enough to spread to the minds of anyone in her surroundings." _

"**Do YoU KnOw WhAT YOuR SiN iS?**" with malevolence in her eyes, her glare pierced through the fearful (and tearful) faces of the group before her. Very much unlike how her usual, kindhearted personality was like, she took joy in seeing such faces for this day. She didn't know the reason why, but she loved what she was doing – even momentarily forgetting that she was simply acting during some points. And then she remembered why—

She was an assassin; this was second nature to her, just like it is with the rest of them. All of sudden, she felt that sense of belonging she had once lost.

_"Slowly, but surely, it will cut their line of other thoughts off – leaving her the only thing on their mind. Just like a powerful toxic made from a chemical reaction; but of course, as a specialist in chemistry myself, it won't be effective if the chemicals don't work well with each other. That's why they left her as the finale – the reaction was the labyrinth and the rest of the members, but without her, the poison would be incomplete." _

* * *

"Now tell me, Headmaster Sakishima Kazuya, how is this not related to combat?" Mikagura finished, yet kept her sly grin on throughout her explanation of the brilliance in each of her students.

As she expected though, their headmaster was not one to praise much or even show the slightest bit of appreciation on that permanently businesslike countenance of his – no matter how impressive the explanation got. Ceasing his observations, he looked directly at her once more; his expression blank, but his eyes inscrutable.

"It bewilders me how they were able to gain this much popularity within the span of a day. Considering the attraction may as well be avoided by a number due to its themes. Nevertheless, it's the first time in years since Kimii has seen anything of the sort. The population of your audience is puzzling, however." He looked over his shoulder to the line of students and outsiders alike, but returned to the chemist's green eyes shortly.

Yet again, Mikagura felt her grin stretch to one side "Oh, the answer is a little simple, really." she put her arms down and rested them on the table to finally sit a little properly – an indication that she would talk about something rather interesting.

"What keeps people coming back, what helps them spread the word – they don't need to use any exaggerated posters or rigorous advertising. All it takes is a little connections and proper use of…long-kept bloodlust."

"Bloodlust?" the inquiry came from both the headmaster and his supposed silenced secretary.

"Yes." The orangeheaded teacher nodded "It seems these students have had it kept in them for too long, it came powerfully. The children's bloodlust allowed them to drum in such fear in them, but at the same time it develops the bloodlust of others in some way. And they'd want to face it again and again until they appease their natural, bloodthirsty urges. Not to mention, they have outstanding camaraderie, so the effect is great. Why do you think children play hide and seek? It's because they find the suspense _fun_. Somehow or other, that suspense is something similar to bloodlust. They've dealt with all types of audiences – from stuck-up bastards to annoying couples, it works for all. People just _love_ to be scared, don't you think?"

"Th-That's…"

"Yes, Yuricchi?" she teasingly tilted her head towards her in a semi-exaggerated fashion – her eyes half-lidded and knowing "Badly conducted students they may be, but you cannot deny that each one of them is nothing short of great. Their grades aren't the only proof of that." At that last statement, she diverted her stare to the man that still looked down at her – his eyes were slightly narrowed as she countered this with a serious expression of her own.

"They've prepared an entire month just for this one day you've given them, headmaster. And the results are as you see it." With that, Kazuya briefly spared a stealthy glance at the people who were lining up for one last time. Things like 'I can't wait! I wonder what they'll do next year.' 'I hope it's as good as this.' or 'That was really scary! But they were very good, don't you think?' 'Yeah!' reached his sharp hearing.

"Do you still believe my students are doing nothing but giving the school a 'bad name' and tainting Kimii's _fantastic_ reputation?" she gave emphasis to the last sentence – repeating some of the words he'd said to her and Isura Mai the day they were called into the office.

A pause came from the powerful school authority before he responded to her; really, he just won't back down – but she won't say that out loud. "Where's your guarantee they won't be?"

"I'm a teacher, remember? Of course I can tell which students are great. You wouldn't have hired me if I didn't~" she winked at him this time (momentarily having his secretary gasp in disbelief) – confident with her answer in all levels.

And for just one, tiny second, Mikagura believes she saw a – no matter how tiny – a smile grace the man's face before he turned a heel and prepared to leave. With his hands in his pockets and without looking back, he told her "Mikagura. Tell your students to prepare something bigger next time."

Said teacher felt her face light up as her body reacted with it – her back straightened and she kept her expectant green orbs on his back. She kept the sass in her tone as she spoke however.

"Oh? Does that mean…?"

"I'll try my hand at giving your combat club more than a day for next year's cultural festival. Probably 2 or 3 – whichever they're more capable of doing. Take all the days of the fiesta being active for all I care."

"W-WHAT?!" Yuricchi's disbelief could be felt from a mile away. Greatly appalled by the idea, she frenziedly looked between her boss and Mikagura before she stomped her high heels towards the headmaster. "For an original club such as this one!? What about our baseball tournaments?! The Theater club?! The other—"

"They were able to get themselves this much of an audience within one day. For a new and original club, that's proof enough that they are praiseworthy for Kimii and its students." He cut her off from her annoyed rambling and stepped to the side – silencing his secretary and even smirking a little bit at her "I do believe we can trust them to make things more interesting around here. I would like to see something other than our old, traditional baseball games and Karuta competitions sometime." Averting his eyes from the secretary's expression of utter shock, he shifted his gaze to the teacher sitting behind the table – whom currently had on the face of a proud mom saying 'Those are my kids.'

"I'll be expecting great things from your club." He finally said as he proceeded to walk away. "And 20% of their earnings." And just as Mikagura was about to heave a sigh of gladness, he had to say _that_.

She scoffed at his attitude as she watched the two school authorities leave the area "In the end, he's still just another cheap jerk…" she muttered to herself, fairly annoyed. This exasperation had dissipated shortly – a small yet soft smile replacing it.

"Congratulations, everyone. You did it."

* * *

"We will be having another 30 minute break! Please remain patient and we are sorry for the inconvenience."

"Aw, another one?"

"I've been in line for almost an hour now!"

While the complaints from outside were being mitigated by the two registration ladies, Isura Mai and Mikagura Midori, there was much going on within a tiny breakroom inside Kimii's school gym.

Heavy breaths of exhaustion nearly outrivaled the amount of oxygen the seven of them had available to them in the room. Faces, necks, and backs were drenched with sweat as bottles of water were downed to the point of the water nearly spilling out.

Rio, who was seated on the floor leaning on a stack of chairs, had to take off her long wig and hold her head for a while due to a little bit of dizziness – her blond hair disheveled and make-up fading due to the sweat. Standing next to her was Karma, who had taken off his cloak and finished a bottle of water before setting it down on a table. The two of them were still fine, but the same could not really be said for the others in the room as both looked on with a little worry.

On the other side of the room (which wasn't very far), Yuzuki was helping Manami sit on a chair with her heavy Kimono – fanning her with the ōgi as she tried to lie down and breathe for a while. The otaku's brows furrowed with concern at her friend's state and wondered if she were still eligible to continue.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"M-Mm. I can still go on. Just need a little time to lie down..." Manami responded to her meekly and between a few breaths; her eyes were closed as she tried to ease the mild dizziness in her head.

"Don't force yourself, okay?" Yuzuki accepted her nod and continued to fan the girl, but soon enough shared the air to everyone else by walking around the room.

Sugino thanked her for this thoughtful action of hers as he too tried to use his hat as a fan – looking just as drained as everyone else in his part of the floor. He discarded all of his gears and laid them out near him as he used his arms to support his leaning position.

The tiredness was especially no exception to the two snipers – since they had the most demanding job. Chiba breathed heavily as he rested in one corner with a bottle of water in his hand; that was probably his 4th or 5th for the day. He was tired – it was written all over his pale complexion and the way sweat made his shirt and hair stuck to him. The rest of the members started to feel a little sorry for him, but all their attention and concern immediately went to the one who had just entered the room after coming from the bathroom.

"Rinka!"

"Hayami!"

She was struggling for breath the moment she came in – she was pale and sweaty and looked like she wanted to puke. Her knees and other limbs wobbled due to her fatigue, and her breathing pattern wasn't helping much either. Resultantly, she lost balance and fell to a few boxes; but lucky as she was, she was caught by Chiba before she got hurt.

"Rinka-san!" Manami stood from her seat – almost tripping from her long outfit in her struggle to approach her.

All of them surrounded the female sniper, but not to the point of crowding her. While Rinka struggled to speak to them, she winced in pain at a probable pulled muscle – the hitch in her breath didn't make things any better. Some of her muscles were shuddering from weariness, particularly her fingers and arms.

"Hayami, don't force it. Breathe slowly." Chiba ordered her with sternness and alarm mixed into his voice.

Watching the scene before him, Karma didn't think twice about his decision "We're stopping now."

This earned him some surprised glances – but judging from the hard look on Karma's face, that didn't change his mind.

"What? But there's still—" Yuzuki's argument was cut just as the redhead paid her a resolute look in his eyes.

"If we go on any longer we'll lose more than we've gained today. We've done what we could. Let's close down."

Despite understanding his reasons, the atmosphere within the room turned to one of slight disheartenment – some eyes were downcast while others had a dissatisfied frown, since they wished they could have done more.

"But—our customers…" Manami mumbled with crestfallen eyes were etched to the floor out of her sympathy; they had people who have lined up for almost an hour ago only to end up on the short end of the stick.

"Will have to understand that we've reached our limit." Karma told her and accepted her discouraged but compliant nod. Finding her obedience satisfactory, he looked over to the snipers, but set his eyes onto the tired girl.

"Your say, Hayami-san?"

Rinka's breathing had calmed enough by then, but her vision was still a tad bit blurry due to both sweat and lightheadedness. She took a short while to contemplate on her answer, for she too had never wanted it to end this early – let alone because of her. But of course, she assessed her better judgment. And right after she faced Chiba, whom nodded to her, she said between breaths,

"Understood, Club Pres."

* * *

_After Hours…_

The setting sun had marked the official end of their first day of the cultural festival. By that time, the gym had been cleaned up and returned to its regular state thanks to the remaining strength of the combat club members – except for Rinka, for she had been advised to rest in the school infirmary while the rest tidied up. Albeit fixing up, none had changed back into their regular clothes – they were already sweaty, so the most practical choice would be to keep it on while they cleaned. Manami was an exception though, so she had worn her school uniform again.

By the time all were settled, Mikagura and Mai finally thought it best to announce to them the results of all their hard work. Exchanging a smile and a nod, the two ladies revealed to them the four boxes of cash they hid behind their backs with radiant beams on their faces as they exclaimed,

"Congratulations!"

"Uwoah! We gained that much?!" Rio's previously nervous face had lit up with joy as she stepped forward – her expression had been mirrored by almost everyone in the room. Karma only grinned in such a way that he had not expected less of what they've received.

"Mhmm~! With three and a half boxes, you've earned over 200,000 yen!" Mai cheered before she set the two boxes in her hold to the floor – happy to hear their sounds of astonishment as she did so. When she stood back up, she took notice of how each of their faces was simply astounded by the fruit of their work. Notwithstanding the student's reactions, Mikagura still grumbled and pouted to the nearest wall – still annoyed how 20% of that precious money will be going to the school. But she won't spoil their fun…yet.

"So does that mean…?" Rinka uttered with a tone of anxiety yet anticipation which matched the expression she had on right now. Everyone was just as excited to hear confirmation from their senior – to the point of even leaning in slightly so they knew they weren't just hearing things.

And at last (though deep down, they already knew), with an exaggerated movement of her arm to the side, Mai took a bow

"Consider your club problems out of your way~!"

With that, their two club supervisors could only smile as they celebrated in unison. But somewhere in them, they had a feeling that the celebration wasn't for the club being saved, but for what they had to do to prove they can do it. They used everything they had with them in order to make this work out the way they wanted it to. It had always been the journey rather than the results for these students. However, for these former assassins, it was the fact they were able to feel like they succeeded in creating a repeat of all of the things they've experienced in the best year of their lives. The exhilaration brought to them by having a target to assassinate, the bloodlust that brought them together which helped them work as a team, the bloodcurdling yet adrenaline-charged feeling as you prepare your first and second knives and work out your plan – those feelings, they felt again today. And the fact that their club was saved and that they're funds were not wasted was somehow like the reward they were just waiting for to tell them that they cleared the real goal – give everyone a taste of the assassination classroom.

"We did it!" Sugino exclaimed as everyone exchanged high fives and cheered with their fists in the air.

"Manami-chan! You were amazing today!" Rio shouted with genuine joyousness as she praised her friend who was…

Currently not there…

But not for long as she came in the front door behind them from the bathroom just a second after the blond had yelled – busying herself with trying to get her contacts and fake eyelashes off. "Yush – Er…Hm?" she was mumbling to herself while struggling to take off the accessories, but ceased when she found all of her friends staring at her. She was about to ask, but before she knew it she'd been tackled by Yuzuki and Rio – inevitably, the three of them fell to the floor with a crash and a choked 'Ah!' from the victim.

As the three girls laughed heartily on the ground while exclaiming things such as 'You were awesome! You were really awesome!' or 'You did it!', the others formed a circle around them with smiles – an added sweatdrop from Rinka though, for she was the only girl subdued enough not to do that. Nonetheless, she was just as happy for the braided girl as the rest of them were.

"See? I told you, you could pull it off." The female sniper knowingly placed a hand on her hip and told her when the three sat up and calmed. Manami looked up to her with grateful purple orbs – almost to the point of tears, even, as she took a good look at everyone's proud and lighthearted expressions.

"Yep. You were good today, Okuda." Sugino gave her a thumb-up and wink as Rio and Yuzuki helped her up with beams on their faces.

She then faced Chiba, whom gave her a smile and a nod. No words were necessary for her to know that he told her she had left a great impact – just like what they talked about in their individual session. Lastly, her gaze shifted to Karma – and she wasn't sure why, but she felt the most suspense form in her gut for his acknowledgment of her efforts and even bit her lip absentmindedly. Noticing this, his mercury eyes went half-lidded as a smirk went to his face.

"What are you nervous about?" he raised an eyebrow and felt some amusement at the reaction she gave when she took notice of her tenseness. "It was great. You outdid yourself, Manami."

As he said this, Manami could almost feel her tears of joy brimming at the edges of her eyes – but these were stopped when her cheeky, blond friend slapped her back a little roughly and caused an obstructed 'Ow' to come from the girl.

"C'mon~! Don't cry! You're gonna ruin your contacts." Rio said happily as she volunteered to help get the rest of her accessories off.

Once all were settled and contented with today's outcomes, conversation sprung up amongst the group "Man, but it was rough, wasn't it?" Sugino sighed; exhaustion clear while he stretched his arms up and behind his head "With that much people in line, I wasn't so sure if I could keep up with the rate everything was going."

"Well, like I said last year," Rio joined in and kept a smile on while she worked on removing a fake eyelash "Using bloodlust is great and all, but it's hard to keep that mindset for an entire day; let alone while doing some strenuous activity."

"You're right about that." Chiba finally said; far too familiar with the blonde's reason. Out of all of them, he was the second most tired with his fellow gunman.

"Well, at the very least, we got more than enough earnings to compensate for what we spent and our lost budget." Karma shrugged at his statement, but deep inside he was as happy as a corrupt government official with all the money they were paid by a bunch of dare-devil idiots.

As the chats pursued, Mai had taken into account some of the parts of their set-up which were arranged neatly inside a nearby storage room. "Oh wow."

"Hm?" Yuzuki inquired when she saw her senior's rather startled expression. After a short pause from the jolly girl observing the torches, she turned back to the otaku "So the fire was just an effect?"

"Well, of course. If we used real fire we wouldn't be able to breathe in here. Not to mention it'd be dangerous to have flames in such a cramped room full of wood." She explained this quite expertly – even raising a finger to establish her points the same way she always did if she discussed a deduction of hers.

"Yup. We have Mikagura-sensei to thank for that." Rinka thoughtfully commented and spared a glance at their teacher.

"Oh shush you kids." She tried to act sheepish, but in the end they really did disregard her after that. And here she was proud and after all the praising she did for them in front of the headmaster. It's such a pain to be an adult…

"Well, it looks like things are done here." A voice that had not been in the room earlier had startled all within it – having them stop from whatever they were doing and pay their attention to the figure that had come inside. Mikagura-sensei, who was closest to the entrance, had to jump back from the shock of her best friend suddenly inside the room – slack-jawed.

Inari simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if asking if she had suddenly gone crazy (which won't be surprising), but soon enough she disregarded her existence and faced the group of teenagers with a – they couldn't believe it –an almost motherly smile.

"Congratulations, all of you."

While smiles were exchanged with one another for a job well done, Karma was caught by mild surprise at her sudden arrival. All the while, Manami had walked up to her – delighted that she had come yet curious as to why she had in the first place. "Inari-nee? Why did you come?"

In a swift movement of the school nurse's wrist, the braided girl had been shown eight pieces of paper arranged in such a way cards would "You guys earned it." She said with sincerity as she gently placed them in the girl's palm. "So have fun for tonight." And with a wink, she watched with amusement how the rest of her friends had gathered behind her to have a look at what Inari had given her.

"What's that?"

With another moment of silence passing, eyes grew wide with astonishment, but the grins were even wider. Reading the words on the coupons saying 'Karaoke', they cheered once more.

* * *

**Phew. That was a handful XD But hopefully you've come to enjoy it one way or another! 83 **

**As always, please leave a review to tell me what you think! Hate it? Love it? It's okay? Tell me and I'll do what I can to make things better! ^W^ **

**Also, since this is quite a long chapter, it would help if you would tell me which parts you liked best about it so I can have some reference in the type of scenes I should put for some succeeding chapters! Reviews keep me motivated to keep this story going and I will do my best to make it a story worth reading!**  
**Also here's another concern, I'm trying to improve on my writing. It would mean a lot if you could tell me what's wrong with it and if the story's getting too boring, too dragging, or whatnot. That would be nice! 8))  
**

**Oh and here's a little extra from one of the characters! 8D:**

**Rio: Actually, I preferred to play Hanako-san from the old bathroom myth, but it seemed both Karma and Manami decided against it for some reason…Neither of them will tell me why either...Now ain't that something fishy? Hihihi, whatever the reason is, I'll surely find out...*evil snicker*  
**

**Bye for now~! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I get myself a two-day break! ^W^**

**With love,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


	26. Chapter 26

**What's this? TheFlowerWeSawThatDay has posted a chapter? PINCH ME I'M DREAMING!**

**Hello everyone! Been a long time, huh? XD But thank the Lord God almighty in heaven that I have found the time to write again! I won't make this all too long so you can get back to this chapter you've waited too long for (I'm not even sure if it was worth the wait considering my fluctuating writer's block and inspiration as I did this [which is why it took so long])**

**But well, it's here, there may be some corny parts, some may not be but well, THIS IS IT! ^W^ I really do hope it serves an enjoyable read! I'll do my best to keep on updating when I find I have the time. I'm aiming for a college that can get me a 6 month break so I could focus on this again ;w;**

**Okay so since I cannot afford (right now) to answer, reviews, I'll get straight to the point for everything. And since this is a chapter with half of it in the Karaoke, I made a list of the songs some of them sang for convenience's sake! 8D**

**List of songs:**

**Sugino – Kanade by Sukima Switch sung by Yoshitaka Yamaya (Sugino's voice actor)**

**Rinka – Soldier Game by Love Live (Maki Version)**

**Rio – Brand New Day by Numakura Manami (Rio's voice actress)**

**Manami – START:DASH by Love Live's u's (Honoka Version)**

**I know some of them don't belong to the voice actors themselves, but I really tried to look for songs that would sound like they come from a Karaoke and at the same time don't sound too far from the real voice actors (FORGIVE ME IF THEY DO NOT FIT I HAVE TRIED! ;w;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the great Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. All to Matsui-sensei. **

**I hope you enjoy! ^W^ LET US GO!**

* * *

**Chapter 26: What You Are To Me (FIESTA ARC! [Part 3: I've been meaning to ask you…])**

_"…We'd be connected no matter where we were." _And with an exhausted yet relieved sigh, Sugino finished his song.

A round of applause broke from inside of the room as he put the mic away –faces were impressed as they clapped with courteous praise. The cheering was so much louder on the left side of the room, however – in particular, it involved a cheeky blonde and a peculiar brunette.

"Nice one!" Mai exclaimed as she raised a soda can to him in approval.

"Good Job! Here ya go!" Meanwhile, Rio had tossed his phone to him with a grin before taking a sip of her own drink. With that, as expected of a person such as her, she failed – rather, didn't care (because she found it amusing) – to notice how the baseball boy was only able to barely catch it – even panicking a little in his attempts to do so before he finally caught it and released an utterly relieved sigh.

"Wow! I'm impressed Sugino-kun." Manami complimented as she viewed the score of 90 on the TV screen with fascinated purple eyes. Beside her, Karma had on his trademark relaxed smile as he was lazily positioned on the couch – his head rested on his intertwined hands as his bent arms were on either side of it.

Although the rest of the members of the room continued to compliment him appropriately, their words fell on deaf ears for Sugino was too busy somewhat glowering at the golden-haired trickster who busied herself with her drink. Once she took notice of his unsurprising reaction towards her, she merely winked as if saying _'Good. Now you're secret's safe with me'_– and he deadpanned at her antics.

What happened between the two of them?

It all started when the spiky-haired boy had been peacefully scrolling through his phone with an idiotic grin he did not know he had on whilst he did as Yuzuki sang (some song called . And that was when Rio, impish as she was, had to interfere with his peace and eventually found out just what he was grinning about. And as she expected, it was Kanzaki-related. From there, one thing led to another, and it ended up with the more mischievous between the two forcing the other to have to sing otherwise she'll have to tell everyone that he was looking through—

"Alright! Alright! I get it!" – was what he said as he blocked her running mouth with his palm from behind her.

With that established, it leads back here.

"Much appreciated…" Sugino finally said – looking to be quite dispirited as he sat back down just in time for their food to arrive. Despite this, not a lot of people paid too much mind to (or barely noticed) the strange behavior he displayed and settled themselves around the table to feast.

The table was packed with all sorts of common Karaoke food – mainly, there were drinks such as lemonade, iced tea and soda for some while the main course was pizza; with crackers, chips and dip, and other kinds of finger food that tasted better than they looked (except the dip) on the side. Of course, as they chowed down to their liking, it would be hard for conversation not to spring up between them.

"If I remember correctly, no one from our class came today, huh?" Yuzuki started before taking a bite out of her pizza – some disappointment laced in her casual tone of voice as she glanced at all assassination classroom members expectantly.

"Too bad, but I'm afraid so." Chiba replied to her "It just so happened that our cultural festival days were in sync with most of theirs. So it would be expected that each cultural fest would be at its busiest during its first day." He explained in the same professional manner he always did, but even his voice had shown signs of being letdown.

"Also, some of them have exams during this time of the year, so that explains the case of Hazama, Terasaka and Okano." Rinka added in the same fashion Chiba did as she took a few chips into her hand. Ah, Hayami Rinka; well-informed as usual. At this statement, some hums of disappointment had been released from around the table.

"Oh well, guess it can't be helped." Rio shrugged and leaned back in her seat quite blithely "Would've loved to know what the rest of them would've thought of ours had they been able to see it."

"You're more bummed about not being able to mess with any of them, aren't you?" Next to her, Sugino raised an eyebrow and felt a sweatdrop come down the side of his head, still a little peeved about what happened between them earlier. On the other side of the table, Yuzuki found something suspicious going on between the two of them and narrowed her eyes as she sipped on her drink – but soon enough, she told herself to shrug it off as nothing. For now at least.

"In any case," Karma chose this time to join in their conversation as he took his second pizza from the box "Earlier I was able to contact Nagisa and the others, and they said the rest of them can promise that next year we'll try to see what each of us have." The redheaded boy said this in the same style he always did so – with a carefree smile and attitude way too befitting of him. Yet at his words, some faces around the table brightened up.

"Well, there _is_ always next time." Said the otaku among them with a shrug, but a contented smile; satisfied with that guarantee for now.

"Mhmm. Not to mention, we were able to earn the choice of having the entire cultural festival next year, so we'll have plenty of chances." It was then Manami decided to hop into their chat after she had finished eating entirely. She was never one to talk much whenever they had chatter as a group, so as a result, some of them somewhat forgot she was there for a second – along with their senpai who had silently yet respectfully listened to her juniors as they spoke to each other about matters that only involved themselves. She didn't mind it at all though; it was nice to be a mere spectator most times.

"Well, on that note," As smiles were brought to their faces, Rio chose to bring life back to the party by raising her drink to signal everyone for a cheers as they all exclaimed "Congratulations everyone!"

With a _clank_, the glasses of iced tea, lemonade and soda collided and were consumed shortly after.

Soon enough, more casual conversation topics occurred between them – from how good the food was for a newly opened Karaoke House to the convenience of having coupons that were able to give them a discount. Soon enough, the discussion had smoothly transitioned to their school nurse/Cultural fest coach who was to thank for everything they had that evening. How she must have had to go through some complications just to get them such and couldn't be more grateful for all she'd done.

"Mikagura-sensei's face was hilarious!" Rio commented as she tried to contain some of the laughter that threatened to come out when she looked back at the memory.

"Pft, I could never forget it." Yuzuki shared the same feeling with her blonde friend as they both had the memory flash back to their minds. Inari-sensei had brought their chemistry teacher/club supervisor's hopes up with the show of coupons in her hand, but shortly after the sadistic woman told her that she wasn't allowed to go with them for reasons that involve her issues regarding whichever man she may see there, and what she may end up teaching the kids had they been alone with her in such a place. Thus, Mikagura-sensei's expression of "Are You Kidding me?!" was priceless as ever to them– especially when she was told to attend a seminar in her stead as well as finish the paperwork she had left unattended. After complaints such as "The kids always have all the fun!" or "After all I've done for them!?" eventually Inari had to literally drag her body out of the room.

With that, they all laughed and jokingly made fun of their poor, single chemistry teacher.

In the duration of this, Manami could only listen and smile as they talked highly of her caretaker who was like family to her. She couldn't be more than happy to hear their appreciative comments about her, yet something about her smile and the expression in her eyes seemed to be a little glum – to which Chiba, had anyone been able to see, raised an eyebrow to. It was already a little strange how she wasn't reacting much to the playful chitchat, and observant as he was, this had caught his eye.

"Anyway; what about you, Isura-senpai? Any news on the upcoming elections?" it seemed the sniper was not the only one who had taken notice of this, but Karma did so too – Chiba realized this when he changed the subject. Absentmindedly, the rest went with the flow and diverted their attention to the older girl who had been quite subdued for the entirety of their celebration. She tilted her head in response to the abrupt question as she sipped from her drink.

"Oh yeah, you're running for president for next year, aren't you? How's your campaign going?" Sugino asked with enthusiasm and showed eagerness to listen along with all else in the table.

Mai set her glass down and energetically took part in the discussion "Everything's going swell so far~! But things are gonna be getting busy from here on out, so you won't be seeing me around much for the rest of the cultural festival." She crossed her arms at that statement as she thought about all the things she still had to deal with like paperwork and the whatnot.

"Is that so?" Rinka asked with an inquisitive blink of her eyes.

"Yup. There are a lot of things to prepare so I have to use my time wisely." With that, she took her drink again and sipped from it as if she were some CEO of a company. Peculiar, but expected from her anyway.

"Aah~, as expected of our hardworking Vice President." Yuzuki complimented, but was shot down by Mai with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Now, that's too much. All I'm doing is what I'm expected to do. Nothing more than that." She smiled and faced them with her droopy, bright blue eyes as a calmed voice replaced her earlier energetic one.

A few moments of exchanging looks and humming with puzzlement were spent after such a statement, but seeing as that may just be her motivation for things, they went with it.

"Alright then, good luck with that, senpai."

"I'm pretty sure you'll do a great job at it either way, so my vote's already yours~"

"When you win, when are the new vending machines gonna be delivered?"

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

The brunette beamed at their encouraging words with gratefulness, yet remained humble as she said "Thank you, everyone. But in the end, it's the school's decision whether or not they want me as their president."

"That may be so," Rio shrugged and crossed her legs as she leaned back in the couch "But either way, I wouldn't mind if you became our student superior for next year."

"Neither would I." Chiba agreed with this as he nodded to the blonde who accepted it graciously "I think you'd make a nice leader. What projects do you have in mind?"

As this went on, Karma smiled at his success in his plan to divert everyone's attention as he listened and drank from his soda. While he did so, he sensed something like an aura of despondency to his left that was way too strong for him to ignore. Looking over, he raised an eyebrow at the eyeglasses-ed girl who gave off such a puzzling aura. She was smiling and spouting out things about being happy for her senior, but a smile of self-pity was plastered on her face. Finding this to be relatively odd even for him, he let his curiosity and concern get the best of him.

"Something up?"

"…Superior…" she said only above a whisper and lowered her head as if she were ashamed of something.

Mercury eyes were still on her as he was bewildered with whatever was going on in her head now. Manami, sensing that he was waiting for an answer for her, felt her shoulders tense as she clasped her hands together on her lap – it was as if some sort of dark bluish hue had covered half of her face out of shame for herself as she kept her sullen purple eyes to the floor.

"It's just that…Mai-senpai has a bigger chest than me…"

"Heh?" he wasn't able to stop himself on time before his eyes actually looked at the older brunette in the room. And she was right; that was probably a D leaning to an E-cup. And the fact he even _thought_ about that for a _second_ was enough to cause him to make his head collide with the table – but gently, so that he may not grab attention from the entire table and have them ask about it.

"K-Karma-kun? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Manami had some surprise in her tone when he did that – completely clueless as to why he had reacted that way. And because of this, he had to resist the urge to bang his head on the table even harder.

He lifted his face from the table – quite relieved how no one else had noticed this brief episode of his – as he released an exasperated sigh to regain his composure.

"Nothing," he brushed it off as casually as he could as he stood up and laxly placed his hands in his pockets – successfully masking his earlier flustered state "I'm gonna go get another drink." He announced before he made his way out.

"Oh, I could use one too." Sugino said right on time before he left. And with that, the two boys had departed from the room together.

Due to the suddenly hollow atmosphere that had come upon them by the boys leaving, they had agreed with having Rinka as their next candidate for the Karaoke machine. After much arguments, blackmails, and rather witty comebacks in certain arguments, one thing led to another and she had eventually complied– to much of her annoyance, repulsion and lastly, despair.

_"Three, two, one, zero; Here's my intro. Please look at me; I'm completely serious  
My thrilling beauty will win, without fail…"_

While they enjoyed the show, it just so happened that the blond-haired life of the party had struck up another conversation with the bespectacled chemistry-lover sitting next to her "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, what was that earlier~?"

"Hm?" Manami turned her attention away from the singing sniper and toward her sly friend with a look of question in her eyes – prodding her to carry on.

"The one with the guy we beat the pride out of by that convenience store– what was that about?" Rio could not forget how she had improvised with one of the idiotic, bulky men they had encountered within their labyrinth. His actions in front of Manami – or 'Izanami' in this case – had, quite frankly, been surprising, but not more than what the raven-haired girl did to respond to such.

"Ah, that one." Albeit that, Manami answered in such a casual way she was even smiling as she explained "I was a little surprised with what he did, but I thought it would've been best to improvise instead of react." There was a sense of pride to her answer as her expression matched it as well. For once, Okuda Manami pleased with herself – and it didn't involve science.

At that, however, the blue-orbed girl had to suppress a sigh as a sweatdrop formed behind her head. She must've been so immersed into the role that she must've seen nothing odd about the show she had put on. Nevertheless, she brushed it off and gave her an expression that said something along the lines of 'Bravo'.

"Heh~? Well, you did a great job at it, if I can say."

While the Poison Glasses thanked the girl for her flattering remark, the proud chuckles of Fuwa Yuzuki had come to earshot and interjected in their conversation.

Both girl's heads were turned – and their eyes were first met with the mangaka wannabe herself with her chin resting on her thumb and index finger, which was similar to how a classic, mischievous detective would pose.

"Someone looks proud of herself." The blond mused – Yuzuki responded to this with a pleased 'Hmph.' before she sat back and crossed her legs with sass whilst turning a pair of chopsticks in her hand.

"Why, of course. I was the one who told her about that trick in the first place."

"Mhm. Thank you, Yuzuki-chan." Manami raised her thumb and exchanged a nod with the coconut-haired girl after a brief high five. Nonetheless, Yuzuki's moment of gratification had been cut short when a suspicious hum of amusement had emitted from the cheeky trickster's (the only one in the room, at least) direction. Sensing this to be something fishy or yet another aggravating comment of hers –probably the latter – she raised an eyebrow with a slightly annoyed look in her eye.

"What?"

"Nothing much. It just makes sense coming from you." She knew it and she still took the bait – but it was a good thing the sound of clapping and her senior's applauding of Rinka had blocked out the sound of her breaking the chopsticks in her hands in her agitation.

"I think I'll go to the bathroom…" Yuzuki suppressed a grumble as she stood up from the couch – leaving some broken chopsticks on top of the table without sparing the nosy blonde a glance. She prepared to head out, yet had been stopped by the eyeglasses-ed girl on the way as she told her she would come with her as well.

When the two were out, a brief silence had settled with the remaining members of the room shortly after compliments of Rinka's singing were exchanged. Albeit not saying anything, all knew they shared the same, disconcerting feeling of being merely three left in a room that had seven. Not wanting this to go on, it was Mai's turn to start a conversation.

"Oh yeah! I've been meaning to ask you about how your marketing had went!" she said in the regular jovial tone she had always used and leaned forward a tad to properly show her curious, blue eyes to the younger students around the table "It was a little bit of a surprise to see so much customers in one day. How did you manage to do it?"

"Yeah, we were pretty shocked ourselves." Chiba answered from across the round table; and despite saying it with that usual demeanor of his, his tone of voice did not hide his own, however mild it may be, astonishment to the subject. "I didn't think that much would show up; even with the indirect advertising Karma told us about. Still a little puzzling to me, really." As he said this, he recalled the explanation of the redhead regarding their so-called 'indirect advertising – that the bloodlust they showed them, the betting feature of their attraction, and of course the response of their audiences to these will be enough to let even the smallest groups spread the word for them.

"Mm." small sounds of quizzicality came from the two snipers when they were replied to with the swinging of brown hair coming from the girl that shook her head with a tuneful hum. "That's not really what I meant. The amount of people that came was all due to your undeniable efforts. I was talking about the large amount of _male_ customers you had throughout the day." Her blue-orbed stare brimmed with innocent curiosity that tried to dig them for answers any explanation towards that peculiar fact.

"Come to think of it…" Rinka immediately felt uneasy at the older girl's statement – not because of the oddity in it, but because she already knew who was responsible for such. With that, she didn't even take a second of thought before glaring at the blonde seated next to her wearing a smile that defined her mischief as her arms were crossed rather triumphantly.

"_Nakamura…_" the way the pigtailed sniper had worded this out could be easily compared to a kettle at its boiling point. The name she said seethed like a metal pot over a campfire – which was the flare in her eyes.

But even with this threatening look of hers, Rio kept herself unfazed and flashed the three staring at her with a toothy grin "It's called FANSERVICE~!" this baffling explanation had been followed by a picture in her phone of an overfamiliar braided girl wearing what looked like a cosplay of Dorothy from Wizard of Oz – but the pose she had in the photo appeared to belong more to a magazine model rather than an innocent tornado victim from Kansas.

It took a mere second of peering at the photo with wide, bug-eyed expressions before jaws were dropped.

And while Isura looked amazed at this, Rinka looked like she had been betrayed. Chiba, on the other hand, was just plain shocked to see it.

* * *

"What _was_ that about? The one Rio-chan talked about, I mean." Yuzuki started from another cubicle in the girl's restroom just next to her friend's. Though she excused herself from the room to calm her irritation at the blonde's annoying comment about her lov—infatuatio—_thing _about a certain someone. After she had disposed of a tissue she used to wipe the seat and flushed the toilet, she at last heard the girl's voice respond from the other side.

"Hm? Well, it wasn't anything, really. Just like you said, Yuzuki-chan; I have to be able to cope well with whatever situation that happens. So I thought of that." Manami said this rather cheerfully just as she unlocked the door of her cubicle and proceeded to the faucet.

The brunette came after her in no time at all and positioned herself at the next faucet to wash her hands with the other girl "But I heard you said something like 'Return to me when you have proven your worth, and I will eagerly grant you that honor with great rewards' or something…" she attempted to imitate the Izanami act Manami had pulled earlier, but in a more humorous manner as she said it rather hastily and with less seriousness. "Were you really serious about that?"

"Eh?" Manami met her quizzical stare with a pair of innocent yet bewildered purple eyes "But isn't that a little like advertising?"

At that, Yuzuki's head fell forward with quite an amount of force as her forehead nearly collided with the faucet. "Really; I think someone needs to give you a formal lesson on context and choice of vocabulary…" she sighed in exasperation when she lifted her head again to meet her own deadpan expression in the mirror.

Hearing this, the bespectacled girl stifled a sheepish laugh as drops of sweat came down behind her head. Since there was no use in correcting her about it now, instead, the aspiring mangaka let out another breath of air and gave the shorter girl a friendly smile as they left the comfort room "Well, whatever. You still did pretty well under that situation. So I have no complaints about what you did~"

A few more thank-you's and other compliments toward each other were exchanged until they finally made it back to their Karaoke room – only to find that there were only two left inside; with one of them singing as the other cheered in a way too energetic fashion.

_"The world is calling for us! So if we just jump in it will probably be alright! _

_Today begins, It's a Brand New Day!"_

Rio had just finished her short song by the time her other two friends had come back into the room fully. Mai clapped with a very impressed shine in her eyes for the blonde as she spun the mic around her hand; proud of her result of 97, no less. Meanwhile, Yuzuki didn't take the time to congratulate her (considering she knew too well that Rio was a genius next to Karma), she instead asked "Where'd Chiba-kun and Rinka go?"

"Out to order some more food." The golden-haired girl replied before falling back down to her seat in a lax manner.

"I see." And the conversation ended there for minutes. No one needed to question why they had gone together – and really, there was nothing more to talk about the two of them.

After moments, of comfortable silence as all four girls were seated and sipped their drinks, a realization had hit their blonde life of the party who sat up excitedly "Oh yeah! Manami-chan, you're the only one who hasn't tried yet, huh? You wanna give it a go?" Rio encouraged (even though she asked politely, she most likely would have found some way to blackmail her into doing so).

The petite girl blinked in mild surprise at what she said. "Well…" she looked to the side for a moment to ponder on that idea. True enough, she hadn't even thought of giving it a try for the whole time they had been there. She wasn't really one that would join in on these kinds of things. But considering what she was able to pull off in today's Cultural Festival, she felt a bit of confidence form within her. A few more moments of thought had been spent, but she eventually answered with "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

It didn't take too long for Manami to choose a song and prepare herself to sing. Despite the nervousness she felt forming somewhere deep down her stomach, there was something about her today that didn't feel like her usual self for once – like the cultural festival's effect on her still remained, and she wasn't scared of messing up now.

Taking a deep breath, she listened as the introductory piano tune played from the speakers.

As she prepared herself, the other three had engaged in a mundane chat about how good the sound system was; even giving some comments that would usually be said by professionals in that field.

But that was until they heard Mic Feedback come from where the chemistry-lover was as she was just about to sing.

"Guess we spoke too soon." Rio put the other two's thoughts into words – using a sarcastic smile that obviously hid her disappointment.

While the intro to the girl's song still played, Yuzuki had to suppress her laughter to avoid being too rude "So much for nice sound quality."

"Guess it can't be helped, it is new after all." Mai said sheepishly – she felt the need to be considerate of the building's faults for the other two were tad bit harder to please than she was.

"Yeah but—"

_"Even newborn baby birds will be able to soar through the sky one day! They'll fly with great and strong wings!"_

Their chatter had been cut short once the unexpected singing voice of their poison-loving friend had come to earshot. Three pairs of blinking eyes could not tear away from where the sound had emitted – they're expectations (or lack thereof) were blown off the rooftop the longer they listened to the surprisingly gifted singing voice of the introverted girl.

Manami, on the other hand, was too engrossed with her performance to even notice what she was doing – it was just like how it had been in the Cultural Festival; only, it came more naturally this time.

_"I believe in you, so you should START!"_ at the final note, she breathed out all of the tension in her body and lowered the mic from her face. Afterwards, she wiped some of the sweat from her forehead and let a smile saying 'All in a day's work' stretch on her face when she faced them.

"That was fu—"

"Manami-chan!"

"Hm?" she took a second to what all of them were staring at behind her, only to share the same shock as all three of her friends when she found the number 98 on the screen. "Wh-Whaaa—!?" her entire body looked like it had just been electrocuted as her eyes grew wide enough to make her look like a bug – with the added effect of her braids comically standing up like antennas.

"Since when did _you_ ever have that kind of a voice?" Rio teased; her astonishment by the result of her timid friend was still clear on her features, nonetheless– especially since it was a point higher than hers. Now that's kind of record-breaking; especially when you're talking about someone like Okuda Manami.

"I-I-I – I didn't!"

"The results say otherwise, though." Yuzuki joined in and spared a few more blinks at the screen that now read 'GOOD JOB! YOU'RE A SINGING SENSATION!'. If it hadn't been for her amazement, she would've jeered mercilessly at the font and the colors on the screen.

"Did you ever have voice lessons in the past?" the braided girl's prankster friend raised an eyebrow to her direction with a inquisitiveness in her eyes.

Far from recovery from her shock, Manami spluttered out in reply. "I-I never have!" She looked down at her index fingers and tapped them to each other as she explained the memory. "A-Although m-maybe I _did _participate in a musical about toys back in elementary; b-but all I did was play as a bowling pin in the background so…" It was almost as if a thought bubble of that school play had hovered above her head and played the pitiful scene for her blonde and brunette friend.

_'What a sorrowful stage play…'_ Yuzuki and Rio shared the same thought in their minds as drops of sweat went down their heads.

"I think I got an idea!" all three heads turned to their senior whom interjected – her finger raised in eureka as her blue orbs had a hint of enthusiasm to them. Using the same finger she raised, she pointed at the shortest girl among them "Why don't you sing in one of the finale performances at the Fiesta's Closing Ceremony?"

"Heh?" all three former assassins said in unison – with equal disbelief on their faces as they tried to process what Mai had just said.

"Wait a minute, Isura-senpai, why so suddenly…?" Rio questioned with a tilt of her head and the furrow of her eyebrows. "I mean…Not that I'm saying anything's wrong with that, but isn't that a little too hasty?" she didn't have to elaborate to get her point across – it was just one song out of a Karaoke machine, after all. To make a decision like that just because of it would probably be much too reckless and short-noticed– even if it did sound good. And there was also the question of it being something her friend could manage to do with the time given.

"I was the one who did it last year, but since I have a lot of responsibilities to worry about due to the coming elections, the Student Council is still in the middle of looking for a new vocalist for its usual last-day band performance. Since it was a little late to be announced, it's caused some complications with the scheduling of the festivals ending program. But with what I've heard today – and not just for convenience's sake – I think you'd fit the job. That is, if that's okay with you." After a brief shrug, she raised a thumb to her for more encouragement with the added effect of a wink. "After all, you must've gained _some_ confidence after today, right?" she added that last sentence with knowledge of how the younger girl would usually react.

It took a short while before a reaction came as the three seemed to contemplate on the offer – though it was the girl who had been asked herself that looked the most pensive on this matter.

"Well, what do you say?" to Manami's slight surprise, it was Yuzuki who asked her this question. But she didn't have an encouraging smile on – instead, she looked at her quite blankly.

When she looked over to Rio, she was also giving her the same expression – though her eyes were lazy and half-lidded, they were expectant. They weren't giving her a sign that they wanted her to do it, but nor did they give her a sign they were against it. And then she understood; she had absentmindedly looked to them for approval, but no one was pushing her to make this decision. It's hers now. It must've been because of the pressure they knew they put on her when she was voted to be the main star of their Cultural Fest–they were trying to make up for it now.

Despite how uptight they were with her role, despite the practices that went for hours and their perfectionist standards, they still felt for her. Her expression softened – honored by the opportunity she'd been given.

"Do you really think I can?" this response had her two clubmates exchange a contented smile with one another – like they had some silent agreement.

"Hmm…"Mai hummed as she took a moment to think about her answer – but really, it was all just for the suspense effect (that failed eventually) "If you're set on doing it, you'll do just great."

The amount of happiness the braided girl had felt wash over her was enough to light up her face under the already well-lit room. Gratefully, she told the older girl,

"Thank you, senpai."

Meanwhile, the other two of the former Class E shared another smug look to each other as they high fived. Not because they knew she'd say yes, but because they were proud of the drastic change that had happened to their bespectacled friend. It was so much different from all the months before this day – heck, she was even more confident than she was back in class E when she asked their teacher to drink her poison.

Just as they were about to go and join their friend in her ecstatic talk with Mai, they had not realized they were standing by the door until it hit them from behind– literally.

The two stumbled forward and were mere inches close to hitting the table full of glasses and empty pizza boxes. Luckily they found balance with their assassin-like reflexes and jumped away in time, but this soon resulted to another disaster when Rinka had bumped into a very startled Yuzuki. This then led to the sniper stepping back on impulse, which caused her to bump into Chiba whom held onto hot Pizza boxes, and for the tray of plastic cups in her hold to spill, fall off the tray, and splash their fizzy, sticky contents on the floor and onto the legs and feet of those near it. The shabby-haired boy reacted way too fast to this and ended up lifting the pizza box to avoid anyone from getting burned by its heat – little did he know the box had not been so secured by the Karaoke's staff.

The last thing Rinka's emerald eyes saw was a round piece of dough fall down in front of her before it splatted to the soda-soaked floor – splashing even more of the sticky substance to their legs.

Seconds of stunned and agonized silence had been spent gawking at the mess on the floor.

* * *

"Karma, do you even know what mercy means?" all a very exhausted Sugino got as an answer was the mock-innocent smile of the demon known as Akabane Karma as they walked down one of the hallways right after they had gotten their refilled drinks from one of the drinks counters.

"If you're faced with something as tragic as that, it's hard not to wanna make it cry." He said such an evil set of words so casually it sent a small chill to the spiky-haired boy's spine – he could even feel a drop of cold sweat by the side of his head. But as much as he would hate to admit it, a big part of him was glad the redhead did that. If he hadn't, who knows how much longer they'd be held up in line waiting for that group of teenage girls to stop being too flirty with this one guy that looked like every other prissy goofball that was too full of himself – which is why the sadistic boy had referred to him as a sorry piece of 'that' in his last statement.

Sugino heaved a heavy sigh and just let it go. He was just glad he intervened before Karma could completely crush his pride and dignity into pure nothingness.

It had so happened they had both chosen to settle outside by the entrance of the building for some peace and quiet. It seemed they had shared the same wavelength – it was like they silently agreed to have a brief respite from the liveliness inside. Despite being two of the most athletic among the rest of them, it couldn't be denied that they were still tired from their activities earlier in the day.

The taller one of the two boys sat himself on the top-step of the stairs next to one of the post that held the canopy above their heads. His arm was extended behind him in the cool and lax fashion he always carried himself with as the other was used for his drink. Sugino stood by the post on the other end with his hand in his pocket as he kept his eyes locked to the forever-crescent moon glowed amidst the dark clouds.

For a short while, there was only the quietness brought about by the evening – the cars which seldom passed them by had brought quite the peaceful resonance; much like how they would when a strong shower of rain would end. Within this brief, calming period of time, Sugino had taken the chance to relax, yet also delve into some thoughts he'd had in his head for a while now.

"Y'know Karma, somehow…you've changed."

The abrupt statement was enough to make the redhead cease to consume his drink and look to his direction with calm yet quizzical, mercury orbs. "That so? Though, I don't think I've done anything too different for you to think that."

"Nope. That's not it." Sugino shook his head "Something about the 'you' now's different from the 'you' earlier in the year. I don't exactly know how to put it, really…" in thinking of the proper words, he used his free hand to rub the back of his head. "But somehow, it's like you started taking things seriously again." With a smile, Sugino looked back at the redhead – whom only appeared stolid to this as he scoffed.

"It's like you're saying I've done everything half-assed until now." He leaned back even more on his arm and apathetically looked at his half-empty drink.

"I'm not gonna lie to you about that." The sports-loving boy joked and smiled; nodding in agreement at his own words. Karma's eyes remained half-lidded and impassive, but that remark had him raise his eyebrows at the other as they both took a moment to drink from their cups once more.

"Did something happen in summer?" Sugino continued with curiosity clear in his tone, but Karma waved his hand at his friend's innocent inquiry to brush the topic away before it got into something he wouldn't be very comfortable talking about. So, smooth as he was, he changed the topic.

"It's no big deal. In any case, _you_ were almost a complete no-show the entire break; so I should be asking you that question."

"Ah – I didn't get to tell you? My team had a championship for the National Semi-Finals."

"Oh, so you made it?"

"Yeah. We're heading for the finals this spring. It's been a real pain though. We rarely ever have enough breaks anymore because of all these games, so it's been getting a little exhausting." The exasperation in the way he said those words could not be missed – it was even backed with a long and heavy sigh afterwards.

Though having said that, Sugino managed to get another optimistic smile get back on his face "Well, guess that's just the price of big dreams."

"Hehh…So that's how it is." Karma responded laxly, but contemplated on his friend's words – which made it look like the ice inside his plastic cup was the most interesting thing in the world. Shortly, he moved his eyes from there to the crescent moon that proudly glowed and transcended the dark night clouds. "You look like you've got your life planned out…"

"Did you say something?"

"It's nothing." He brushed it off nonchalantly once again and let the two of them drift into another silence as he drank from the rest of his cup – giving Sugino more time to continue pondering on their conversation just now. When he at last arranged his thoughts, he raised his inscrutable stare back to the biggest reminder of his last year of middle school – the moon.

"Does it bother you how normal we've become?"

The subtle sound of ice from inside the plastic cup of the red-haired boy was an effect of him stopping his drink midway to spare the spiky-haired baseball boy a glance – something about what he's trying to say got enough of his attention to listen again.

"After all that's happened, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I mean, arranging a cultural festival event, succeeding, then going to a Karaoke joint to celebrate it…it's all so normal, at some point it actually bothered me." The tone in his voice was as placid as a still lake – lacking its usual valor and energy unlike the sporty boy he was. It was like there was a sense of maturity to it as he voiced out his philosophies.

Noticing this bout his friend displayed, Karma felt a sense of amusement. Whether it was the fact it was rather out-of-character or just his sadistic side enjoying the distraught of this normally happy boy, he didn't really care as he said "Heh…hearing that from you is unexpected."

Sugino raised his eyebrows "What do you mean?"

"You were the most average middle school student in all of class E and Kunugigaoka, and yet here you are telling me you're bothered about how normal things are. Wouldn't you think that's ironic?" as he spoke about this, it was as if some memories of himself from last year resurfaced. The times when he was simply playing baseball, talking with friends, and reacting in the most predictable ways – and he had to admit that his redheaded friend had a point,

"When you say it like that, it actually kind of hurts…" no matter how bluntly he put it. But such tactlessness could simply be excused by the fact that he is Akabane Karma. His bluntness shouldn't surprise anyone. Establishing that afterthought, he breathed out a sigh. "But…you do have a point."

With another heaved breath along with the wide stretch of his arms upward, he regained his natural, spirited self and rested his knuckles to his sides the same way an idolized superhero would "The world works in mysterious ways, huh? It doesn't quit spinning either. Earlier, my bloodlust felt so real it was actually refreshing to feel. But that too came to an end huh? How merciless." He said this as if he were telling a joke, but anyone would be able to tell that it was a way to try to get rid of the lingering gloom he really has thinking about that. But even still, he managed to smile up at the sky to see how the clouds no longer covered the crescent moon.

"And yet, a big part of me feels like things are okay like this. Living this way probably isn't as bad as the one I agonized over when I graduated last year. Which is why, I've been meaning to ask you…" Sugino looked back down at his friend with a goodhearted smile – to which Karma returned with a nonchalant look.

"Judging from how you've changed, you're starting to be okay with it too, aren't you?"

It took some time before Karma could put together an answer to a question such as that – and there was the fact he wasn't the type of person to engage in too many conversations such as this one. But in the end, he responded with"…'Okay' wouldn't really be the term I'm looking for. But…I have no complaints either." And just like that, he soon continued to finish the rest of his beverage like nothing new happened.

Despite that answer, Sugino knew him long enough to see that he was serious with his answer (even though he really didn't) and managed a small smile "I see. We're growing up, aren't we…?"

Just then, Karma was reminded of a similar time back then – a talk with his best friend that probably harbored almost the same feelings the sports-loving boy probably had at the moment.

_"I…kind of want to grow up soon…" _

After a blink, he brought himself back to reality, slowly lifted his head, and faced the moon together with his friend. A short gap of time had been spent on silence. The two carried on with whatever reminiscence they were going through. No words were exchanged, but they both noticed it –maybe it was the feeling of the bloodlust returning or the truth and realization they had been stuck thinking about their lives in and after middle school for far too long that it's become old; but it didn't bite the heart as much as it did before.

"Guess so." with that late reply, Karma removed himself from his seat and prepared to make his way back inside. A cup in his free hand and lax composure returned, he walked back inside "If that's that, I think we should be heading back by now, no?"

Even without a response from behind him, he proceeded to make his way back to the lively room where their friends were…

…supposed to wait for them. Until some familiar voices reached his ear coming from the left of the wooden-floored hallway he was just about to walk into from the front lobby – where he remembered the bathrooms were. Finding it odd that there were too many female voices he recognized outside of the room they paid for, he stopped walking just a split-second before the group came to view from where he stood. In the single second he was able to catch sight of them, he observed that there was a buzzing topic amongst them judging from the cheery (or for the case of other less expressive ones, positive) faces they were making. He could make out the words 'song', 'closing ceremony', and 'wasted food', but not long before he could ask them about it, purple eyes caught a glimpse of him and immediately grew brighter than they already were.

"Ah! Karma-kun!"

"Mm?" he hummed out of question and raised an eyebrow. But before he knew it, the last thing he noticed was her running rather too enthusiastically towards him thus causing her to trip on some toilet paper left in her shoe just before she could. And then it all happened way too fast for anyone to react on time. Panicked purple eyes met with confused and taken-aback mercury ones before everyone else' attention had been seized by a set of loud thuds upon the hollow wood-planked floor.

"What was that?"

"Did something happen?"

And other remarks of the like were made as Rio, Rinka, and Mai, who were heading back to the karaoke room last, peeked from the side of the doorframe. Even Sugino, who had been peacefully left outside, sharply turned to the commotion in impulse.

It only took two seconds for everyone to give their own reactions – with the infamous blonde looking like an excited five year old as she exclaimed "Hah!", Mai appearing to be astonished by the scenario as if saying 'Nice!', and the other two being just plain shocked to the bone.

With his back on the hard floor, Karma hissed through grit teeth and tightly shut eyes at the pain of colliding to the floor – especially with the back of his head first with and the rest just following. He felt some weight on his chest which was vaguely familiar for a moment until it vanished. By the time he recovered enough to open his eyes as wide as a squint, registering the overfamiliar, chemistry-loving girl's braided hair immediately shot a shock to him. His commonly narrow, calmed eyes were now wider than a bug's even when it's about to get killed.

"O-oww…" there Okuda Manami was, with one hand keeping her steady on the right side of his head while the other was used to rub her head, and her knees half an inch away from coming in contact with the sides of his waist – and like a miraculous coincidence, her face just happened to be hovering perfectly above his in the position she got themselves into.

While Karma remained unmoving since he realized this, the other had not appeared to notice just what situation she had just caused for them in a _public_ place such as a this one.

"Ah, oh yeah! Karma-kun!" as if she just remembered something after recovering from the fall so fast, she slammed her other hand on the left side of his head looking excited to tell him something she looks sure he'll be happy about – but that actually only made things worse for him and doubled the tenseness in his muscles from the sudden action.

"You know what! Mai-senpai just said I was allowed to…" on the other hand, Manami didn't seem to mind it at all as she kept on rambling and rambling like all the time in the world was about to be lost the next day. None of her babbles reached his ear, however, as he remained frozen and – whether he hated it or hated it very much – he could feel the blood rush to his face. It was slow, yes, but he was sure it was there while his expression remained the same.

When he felt his eye twitch from how unbelievable this entire thing was, he knew he'd had enough.

"And then they were telling me that maybe I should choose one song that I should be comfortable doing since I'll only have a day or two to practice but – mmf?!"

"_Okay_! I get it!" right after he grabbed her face to shut her up with his palm, he used his other hand to hold one of her wrists to put some distance between them and sat up sharply. "_Quit your blabbering for just a one __**short**__ second and read the situation, moron…*_" his voice went fast and threateningly low for only her to hear as he stared at her dead in the eye in such a way that if she didn't shut up now she'd regret it.

"Mmphmmf?"

Manami's purple eyes blinked multiple times at the rare occurrence of Akabane Karma looking, not only tremendously irritated, but flustered – though she could only tell since their faces were in close proximity, but far enough for observation. She took what seemed like an eternity looking at his flushed, aggravated expression as if she were having a hard time understanding what was wrong – like there was practically a loading bar hovering above her head.

Her eyes moved first to a very dumbstruck Sugino whom appeared to have dropped an empty cup, then back to Karma, then to herself, and then to the both of them…

And then it hit her harder than being slammed to the ground by a chockfull library shelf. In that same instant of realization, a quick intake of breath was all it took for her to jump back to her feet. Karma let go of her wrist to let her do so once he knew she realized it; but that didn't make things any better nor his expression any softer.

Manami turned away after getting about a meter or two away from him – with wide eyes to the floorboards, holding her insanely hot, strawberry-red face.

Laughable as that was, he failed to see this for her too turned away from her in utter annoyance after entering such an uncool mode. With a bad mood and subtly lifting his arm to hide a grumble and whatever of his hair's color was still left on his face, he looked similar to how a little kid would when he lost a battle in a humiliating way. This was the second time in a row and on the same night her hopeless obliviousness had been a pain in the neck (it's in his head now though, literally and figuratively).

"S-S-Sorry…" her voice squeaked almost as if it did not want to be heard. Even though the boy heard this, all he did was nod – both of them refusing to look at each other after that.

While all of this was going on, Rio was the first to snap the rest of the so-called 'audience' out of their ridiculous shock by letting out a giddy squeal followed by a small yet halfhearted whine of regret "I really wish I brought my phone with me…!"

"Okuda-san! I admire your courage!" Mai exaggeratingly flashed her thumb looking to be in absolute approval of this unfortunate (for Manami and Karma) occurrence.

"S-Senpai?!"

Before things could get even more insane, Rinka finally snapped and began to scold the other two despite still being rattled by the fast-paced events.

"Oi! Nakamura! Have some tact! And you! You're supposed to be a senpai, aren't you!?"

Her continuous nagging must have reached the ears of the remaining members of their group who had been busy cleaning up the mess they left back in the room, since Chiba and Yuzuki had finally poked their heads out of the side of the doorframe with interest.

When things got deafeningly noisy, the urge to beat at least one of them up was so tempting Karma really wished Terasaka was here – he would have at least found something enjoy himself with if that were the case after this preposterous scenario. But even with that notion in mind, all he could do was pull the front of his hair down, let out an exasperated sigh and said,

"All of you. Just…

**_Shut up_**_._"

All the while, and after observing the staff members behind the counter of this joint keeping their smiling faces on even with this madness, Sugino shamed himself for ever calling them normal.

They were nowhere near that word.

* * *

Okuda Manami couldn't sleep that night.

Raven hair sprawled over the white, soft pillow where she rested her head – but with her violet eyes practically pasted on the blurry ceiling, she was as restless as ever under the covers of her bed. Night time came with serenity by the time they parted ways; not even the hoots of the owls or the flaps of a bat's wings resounded with the gentle, autumn wind. Albeit coming home from a rowdy incident, the placidity and soundlessness of her surroundings were not comforting at all – it only brought all of her attention to unsettled mind.

Her eyelids lowered.

_Why…_

And then it flashed again – the earlier episode she had with the redheaded boy whom is the cause of this restiveness. From the face he made then, to the silent treatment he gave her afterward, then finally to a pleasant wave goodbye to the rest of them while Yuzuki and Rio stayed to bring her home.

_Did that have to happen…_

The red on her face came back with such force she felt like she was sweating as a result. Her stomach churned out of embarrassment along with the prances of her light, restless heart as she shifted her position to hug one of the pillows to her side to bury her face in it.

_How on earth am I gonna focus too much now when…_

Her mind just had to go back to his blithe smile when he waved goodbye to her that night.

_when he's all over my mind..._

A pouring of several sensations at once (including frustration) managed to give her a headache then and there. Having had enough of these nonsensical emotions she had never been used to her entire life, Manami shook her head.

_Try not to think of it, Manami._ She breathed in the comforting air of her room, and released it almost as soundlessly as it came – with lingering warmth that stayed for just a moment upon the pillow in her embrace.

_ Mm, that's it. Relax and focus on the soft, warm…_

A lump suddenly entered her throat, like she had suddenly put in a choke-hold, as she realized just what it was she had in her arms so close to her –

It was the shachihoko _he_ gave her for her birthday.

It took only a total of four seconds for her face to shift to a completely red color, shriek in the highest pitch possible, and finally feel her head hit the floor first in her sudden jump back – with the lower half of her body still tangled with the sheets.

"Ow…" a groan escaped her lips from the pain in her neck. Her arms were limp next to her injured head as he could feel some of the cold air touch her now exposed belly – her yellow, buttoned pajamas appeared to have gotten big on her since last year.

"I won't be able to sleep at this rate…" a helpless sigh came with that small whimper – not even the fatigue she must have gotten from today was able to weigh her body down enough to get her to sleep. She hoist her feet up from the bed to perform a flip that would let her feet come in contact with the carpeted floor and have her semi-roll to a W-seated position.

Thankfully, the mellow, golden light radiating from the lamp on her bedside table was able to guide her hand to her glasses upon its top.

_Yush! _Having reached for her spectacles, she adjusted them on the bridge of her nose – even adding a little bit of style to it so it may glint against the light for effect.

_In times like these, warm milk is the best solution. Although it's been proven a scientifically insufficient sedative for several years, the feeling of a full stomach and warmth from the inside of your chest can bring about more peaceful, soothing sensations that inevitably can bring you to sleep. _Such thoughts played in her head in such an eccentric way she could be compared to a narrator in one of those advertisements.

_I know this for a fact. Inari-nee always knocks off to sleep after a glass of it. _Along with this thought, she remembered a time when the said woman had an empty mug of milk in her hand as she slept like a super contented child on top of her work-desk. Manami was to call her to the bath until she witnessed this and sweatdropped when she heard sleep-talking.

Speaking of her, it just so happened that she was the first thing Manami saw once she stepped out of the hallway to her room and to the connecting living room. From the looks of it, she had just come back from one of her other jobs and finished preparing the dinner Manami left for her as always.

"Hm?"

"Welcome home, Inari-nee."

Inari's eyes moved to the wall clock just above their television – it read 11:30 PM. "This is rare. Why are you still awake?"

The bespectacled girl made her way to the fridge to prepare her desired drink and replied "I'm having a hard time sleeping, so…"

Understanding where she was going with the milk and putting her mug in the microwave, the older woman nodded as she seated herself in front of her meal "Oh, having bad dreams?"

"Mm." she shook her head and hummed in contrary "It's nothing like that. Just a little but restless from today…" – _it's not a lie…but…_

"Hmm…well, I can't really blame you. Lots of things happened for you today, so it'd be natural for you to have just as much on your mind. Don't let it get to you." She spoke with a meaningful tone

"E-Ehehe. Guess you're right." but Manami could only bring herself to laugh a tad bit nervously just to acknowledge that presumption of hers. She'd feel bad if she shot her down after a remark so gallant of her.

Sitting down to join her with her caretaker holding a mug of warm, fresh milk, some comfortable silence had been shared between the small, family-like pair as they tended to their meals. Minutes after, purple eyes had moved when they had taken notice of a single stroller suitcase by the door – ready to be taken when the time for departure approaches. And then she remembered.

"What time will you be leaving tomorrow?"

"5:30 in the morning. The earliest train to get to Tokyo central station is at 6 AM." She replied in the midst of chewing her meal, but with the proper etiquette so she may be understood.

"I see. Do you really have to leave that early?"

"It's just so the sooner I get there, the sooner I can leave." She waved off that concern with but a nonchalant tone of voice – she meant nothing bad of her journey the next day, as there was nothing rather negative about it. Manami understood this, though inquire about it for significant purposes.

"By when do you think you'll be back?"

"By the time the Cultural Festival ends, most probably." The nurse found the silence that followed rather odd and had resultantly had to look at the other's expression – stopping midway from getting another bite out of her curry meal. From the brief two seconds of looking at her, it appeared that she was a little too taken aback by her answer.

She didn't even have to think twice at that to know there was something up "Is there something the matter?"

"Ah – No, it's just…" blinking out of her trance, the words came out like an automatic response to that question without her consent. But the moment she regained her senses, she felt a tinge of surprise towards herself and furrowed her brows to her half-empty mug.

_Huh? I didn't want her to leave unconsciously…_

Having found that reaction way too fishy that even a five year old would suspect it, Inari prodded, but not in a demanding manner "Will there something be happening while I'm gone?"

_"Why don't you sing in one of the finale performances at the Fiesta's Closing Ceremony?"_

_Oh yeah! I almost forgot…I've been so occupied thinking about what happened that it completely skipped my mind…_

Once again, she felt everything from the neck up rise in temperature and take on the color red at the thought of how hard she must have fallen for this boy. It wasn't an excuse that this was just her first time feeling this way about someone – she was hopeless with feelings from the beginning despite how much she'd improved throughout her times with the members of class E.

As she noticed Manami use both of her hands to cover her face ever so abruptly, Inari sighed, for she – regretfully – has a hunch as to why. Whatever the girl was fretting about now like a cowering snail in before her eyes is no secret between the two of them. They'd already talked about her so-called _'strange feelings'_ just the day before (yes, Manami was that honest to her). Though that went as quickly as Inari telling her that it was about time, the scene in front of her now was beginning to test her patience; and given the fact she's drained from a hard day of work wasn't helping either.

"Oi, oi."

"E-Ee—Ow!" Manami's glasses nearly slid off her nose from suddenly feeling a sting of pain from being pinched on the cheek.

"What's with you? You look like a pimple that's about to explode on its own." Her guardian's obvious annoyance was enough to tell her that she was too tired to tolerate her dragging this out for too long – especially in that manner.

"W-When you say it like that…" a drop of sweat came down from the back of the raven-haired girl's head at that analogy as she rubbed her affected cheek.

"C'mon, c'mon, I know there's something else." Inari shifted to a cross-legged position and held her glass by its top "It's not every day we get a chance to talk like this. So hurry up and say it." Although her exhaustion was clear from the somewhat breathy voice she spoke with, it seemed she would be in less favor of getting to bed early if it meant she wouldn't be able to talk with her tonight.

Manami had to blink twice to get out of her fretfulness, and at the same time took a brief moment to reflect on those words. She's right – their schedules never agree with one another. Sure, they have their memorable and fun times together, but with her focusing on studies and the ever-busy school nurse with lots of other work to do, on most days, they only ever see each other during nighttime – and that's when they're too tired to even talk.

She shook her head.

_Mhm. This isn't the time to be so annoyingly fidgety about it. Besides, it's Inari-nee._

With a smile, she looked up from her mug and to the relatively expectant look of the older woman before she drank what was left of her glass.

_ I'm sure telling her about it isn't going to hurt._

"You know, Inari-nee," shifting her position, she sat properly with her hands intertwined above her lap – her fingers hugged each other tighter from the tiny bit of excitement she could feel. In turn, Inari acknowledged this with a stare to let her continue.

"Isura-senpai offered me to sing in the Cultural Festival's closing ceremony!" her face lit-up more than she thought it would – as well as her tone of voice.

"Sing?" Albeit such an eager announcement, the rather startled reaction given by the usually subdued red-haired woman went by unnoticed as she went on.

"And I'll be with one of the vocalists along with the student council's musical band!"

"Band?"

"Yup!" with such an opportunity to let her gain confidence and her friends cheering for her, it just so happened Manami was more hyped than she thought she'd be "I'll have to spend some of my time during the cultural fest for practice due to the short notice, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Rio-chan and Yuzuki-chan already helped me find one song that they thought fit me while we were going home. It's my first time doing this, but I heard…Inari-nee?"

It was her silence that got her attention – after perceiving the way she saw her caretaker's dark-colored eyes stare blankly at the middle of the table, Manami could only get so worried about whether or not she said anything wrong.

Such qualms were eased, though not fully, when a smile graced the tired, yet genuine and pretty, features of the older woman "Good for you. I'll arrange to come back before the last day." Inari stood up and went underway with cleaning up after herself along with the now empty mug of milk – leaving all of them on the sink for her to wash in the morning. And throughout the time, the smile never left her face.

As she did this, from behind, she could hear the teenage girl stand from her seat and raise a concerned voice – just as she anticipated "That early?! Is that okay with you? I mean, for you to leave for that long it must be something important. You can come back at—"

"Then," she cut her off, turned her head back to her, and revealed the smile that had not come off since the news was broken to her.

"If I don't make time to watch it entirely, what's the use of telling me about it?" she said this with a knowing and sententious tone of voice – like an older sister that would go against the will of her siblings for their own good whether they liked it or not.

"W-well…" she grabbed a strand of her untied hair and let her eyes travel to the side as she was unable to find something to answer to that.

"Besides," right as she made her way to the hallway opposite of Manami's, she showed her the same smile, looked at her straight in the eye, and gave her yet another sincere set of words before retreating for the night.

"I want to see your performance."

The girl's lavender eyes went right back to her at that. Such an earnest response was something she had not been expecting just from that– so resultantly, she had to stop and look at her for a bit. But it wasn't too long before she returned an overjoyed beam.

"Mm! I'll make it count!" with a tilt of her head and an expression brighter and more motivated than ever, Inari couldn't help but feel herself smile a little too proudly at it.

After favoring each other a good night, Manami collapsed on her bed from the sudden rush of fatigue that took over her body.

* * *

_"We'll arrive there around 9. See you guys there!"_

With a simple push of his finger, Karma locked his phone once he'd read the last message he got from his blue-haired best friend. He was up rather early today – it was only about to be six in the morning by the time he got himself ready. His unsuspected waking time bewildered him; nonetheless, he tried his best to push away the thought that it was because of the scene from last night that got him up.

Because he found that he had too much time to spare at the moment, and that there was no going back to sleep, he figured he could use the time to buy an object he'd had his eye on for weeks and use it on the ones who were to visit their school today –all just to satisfy his sadistic pleasures.

But as that item still had to be bought from a relatively far area, he had to catch an early train to get to school on time. Besides, having something to do this early in the morning proved to get on his good side – it at least helped him get what happened last night out of his mind and to the point he could become indifferent about it. If it wasn't video games, it was productivity that was always a way he could get himself to stop caring about something.

"Oh, what brings you here?" the voice that came oh so suddenly, was so familiar that he had to divert his stare from the steps of stairs to where it had come from – and judging by the maroon crown of hair, followed by the look those dark-hued, narrow eyes always gave him, he guessed it right. There his school nurse was, standing by in wait for the earliest train's arrival, looking dressed for a journey – with one hand carrying a phone and the other rested on the top of her single piece of baggage.

Though this was in the least of his expectations, he feigned to look too affected by their coincidental crossing. He first looked to her in acknowledgement, then towards her paraphernalia "I should be asking you that myself."

"Nothing gets past you, huh?" catching on, she kept her phone with a _click_ as it closed, as it made its way into the pocket of her pants "I'm just gonna pay someone a little visit for a day or two."

"And what will be of a certain someone when you're gone that long?" Karma walked over to the other side of the platform where another entrance was to be expected – leaving quite the gap between the two redheads. Of course he'd ask about that; no matter what she made him go through, that was priority.

"I've done this multiple times – Manami is a good girl, she can get by on her own even for just that long." She replied as indifferently as she could; she even had her eyes on her wristwatch while she did so.

All she got was a hum from him as a response. He threw his hands into his pockets and kept his eyes straight ahead of him – which meant he faced a metal fence that guarded the miniature forest right past it. For what felt like minutes, each merely minded each other's businesses. But the stillness they were in felt hollow, like there was something waiting to be done; for Inari, at least.

"Guess I should thank you." She finally said – and the lack of reluctance when saying that actually got the teenage boy to spare her a glance.

Her fingers were now intertwined in front of her nose as she kept both elbows atop the handle of her trolley. She didn't look at him – or rather, refused to look at him for her eyes kept to the railway beneath them. From this, it was obvious she was having a hard time with simply saying something she'd already admitted long before.

"I'm sure, had it not been for you guys, she would've stayed the same through the entire year." She may have sounded earnest with those words, but Karma immediately answered to that with a scoff and a cocky smirk.

"If it were anyone else', then you should be surprised."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, brat. I'm already trying to be nice to you here…"

"You've got one thing wrong, however."

"Hm?" her brow raised when she, in turn, looked to his side with her chin rested in her palm – only to find him staring right back.

"To thank us for her achievements isn't what you should be doing." He paused after that, just so he could emphasize what came after it.

"You underestimate her too much, Inari-san." That was the first time he called her that – outside of school, it didn't seem right for him to call her sensei, but that was beside the point. She can speculate that from the way he just spoke to her, this was an impression he'd probably had of her since she'd disclosed something important to him.

"Hm…" was all she could say back as her eyelids slightly lowered. There was a brief suspension in their exchange, but within that gap, she did not miss the look in his eye that, she wasn't exactly sure what was there, but they almost challenged her. But Inari found her counterattack sooner than he expected.

"Look who's talking." And she didn't have to elaborate on the time he had come to confront her in the nurse' room about the first problematic happening of their 1st year of high school. Childish it was, for her to play his own game against him and calling out his faults regarding that as well – but she just relished that reaction of 'really?' from him after she said that before she ended her own fun.

"But that's a time of the past. Things have changed since then, and I'm more confident about it now." She fixed her stance and stood up straight – and with one hand to her waist, she faced the pale-blue, morning sky "So, I've decided – I'm going to tell Manami before the end of the year."

That declaration was enough to cause Karma's eyes to widen and completely shift his body to face her. "That way, she'll have lots of time to think about it on her own through winter break."

Inari didn't look like she was lying or making a fool out of him – her stare was fixed to the sky; a solemn one, but a stronghearted one, it was. He knew it was the best thing to do, he knew there was no hiding it any longer than needed, but something about that made him…

Unsure…

_'Let's celebrate your birthday together'_ –and with that falling on winter break, what will become of that promise now?

And it was then he realized –he was actually looking forward to that day.

Inari blinked and lowered her chin as she took a breath. With an exhale, she looked back at him – and there, in her eyes, he actually found, no matter how imperceptible, a sense of trust.

"So when she comes back, I'm counting on you guys to really pick her up."

Karma had gone back to fixing his stare at her blankly for a while, but only because he was reading into her words just now. By confident, she referred to the others as a support team; she was convinced from the cultural festival that they were worth it – that, as long as they're backing one another, they'll surely be able to overcome the challenges that come their way. And this one wouldn't need anyone to break a sweat considering how far they've gone.

Albeit him feeling something off about this, there was nothing he could do about it in the end. At the very least, he'd have one less thing to worry about by the time they become 2nd years in Kimii High School. And so, without any shift in his countenance, he answered.

"Got it."

* * *

***Since 'moron' was found to be worse than idiot and I imagined Karma calling Manami 'Aho', I went with that XD**

**PAPARARA~! How was it? 83 Like it? Hate it? LEAVE ALL YOUR THOUGHTS IN A REVIEW PLEASE ^W^  
**

**I would also very much appreciate it if you do mention some of the portions or stuff about this chapter you liked most and if you have any speculations as to what the future of our dear characters could be at this point in the story ;D. I would LOVE to know your thoughts ^W^**

**Oh and if it's not too much trouble or if you just want to, you may leave any song suggestions for dear Okuda Manami-chan to sing in front of all of Kimii's student body! **

**Manami: I'm still working on my high notes! Please bear with me!**

**There you have it folks! I'll be back with the next chapter the soonest chance I see that I am free! ;;w;; It may take long, but I really do hope and pray that you guys don't get tired of this story. Thank you so so much for following it this far. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!**

**With so much love and gratitude,**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**

* * *

**OMAKE: (written in the fastest way possible for it had come from a whim)**

_Earlier, on the way home…_

"By the way, was there something going on between you and Sugino earlier, Rio-chan?"

"Oh? Someone's a little curious, aren't we?"

She knew she'd say that, and she was prepared for that. Yuzuki shifted her tone from inquisitive to something similar to a Lawyer's tone when defending a client

"I would like you to mention one bad thing about simply inquiring about my friend's well-being. Will you deny me that right, Nakamura Rio-san?"

Rio raised an eyebrow at this "I don't think you're gonna like it. It involves someone pretty well-known."

_Kanzaki-san_

"Psh. That's ridiculous talk there. I'm stronger than that, y'know?" Yuzuki crossed her arms – looking smug and tough there for a second.

For a while, Rio pondered.

_There's no productivity in hiding it from her at this point…But…I'd feel bad…_

Seeing this attitude towards it, the blonde couldn't find it in herself to dance around it and sighed – aiming to make the explanation as painless as possible.

"Unless you're willing to look though his new additions to the album dedicated to her then, I really think we should leave it at that." Yuzuki stops in the road and thinks for a while about that. Not only was that that quite unexpectedly creepy and perverted of Tomohito Sugino, but that felt like a hole got shot through her stomach.

"I-I…think I'm okay with hearing just that…" three steps of walking later, her knees wobbled

"I think I'm going to lie down here for a while…"

"Y-Yuzuki-chan!"

_Fin._


	27. Chapter 27

**...*looks at my dusted document and blows the dust bunnies off it***

**Yes, I know I owe you guys a lot. Yes I know I'm a terrible author. Yes I know I've been gone for so long. And I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO (100x) SORRY! ;;w;;**

**It's been what, 6 months since my last chapter?! Not even ****_I _****could believe that and ****_I'm _****the writer! **

**Rest assured I'm not dead and neither is this story. I just haven't gotten around to writing it recently and I'm really super duper sorry for that! q~q**

**I haven't been feeling myself these past few months and I really thought I needed a break from a lot of things, and that included writing. I always wanna give my best whenever I write and I really couldn't give it my all when there was too much going on with me. So I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY OF THIS CHAPTER AND FOR NOT KEEPING MY PROMISES I KNOW BERATE ME ALL YOU WANT. **

**I would also like to sincerely apologize for the degradation in the quality of chapters ever since I started getting busy again. Back when I was writing this before my 3rd year of high school, this had been my sole focus throughout the summer and I had really fun with it. Because I became too busy, I couldn't really think of scenes just as nice as I did when I wrote these chapters everyday. I still have lots of fun writing, but I'm not very sure of its quality anymore, since I sort of lost continuity – if I consistently wrote, I'm sure the quality would be consistent as well. But hey, I'm waiting for my 5-6 month summer vacation to get myself going again, so I really really do hope that you still have the chance to read! I hope my story hasn't gone down the "Shithole of badly written stories" ;;w;;**

**But other than that, I would like to give my sincerest thanks to all of the people that faved, followed, and reviewed this fanfiction! You guys are the reason I keep going and give me the inspiration to continue writing despite all the challenges in my way. your beautiful comments in the review section warm my heart and I mean it. That's why I wanna post this before Christmas - I mean, I have to give my precious readers a gift one way or another ;;w;;**

**SO MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVELY READERS! I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDYING SUPPORT! You've all been nothing but great and that's why I am compelled to continue this story no matter what. **

**Please have faith that I will NEVER give up on this story even though I know that the latest arc is sort of (not sort of, it's REALLY) messed up. Again, I couldn't really give it much focus and that's why there are a bunch of inconsistencies. **

**Forewarning: I'M SORRY FOR OOCNESS. I am yet to reorient myself with these characters and their relationships with one another, as well as the world they live in. So yeah, please bear with this chapter for a bit because I know it's nothing compared to what I used to make. But still, I hope you guys find at least some enjoyment in this one QAQ**

**Forewarning number 2:There is official Nagikae in this chapter. And for all of you who have the argument that it isn't canon in the real thing because of Kayano said "I'm not under Nagisa's radar AT THE MOMENT", 7 years is a long time. Ups and downs in a relationship happen. So for this chapter, Nagikae is canon. Okay? okay we can argue later. **

**DISCLAIMER: ANSATSU KYOUSHITSU BELONGS TO THE ONE AND ONLY GENIUS THAT IS MATSUI-SENSEI. **

**Please enjoy this VERY LATE installment of To Reach You! **

* * *

_"Oh, to the castle of the Egg Prince~! Dressed in tux and gown – handsome men, and pretty ladies –rounding up the ballroom~! I have prepared my evening dress; but dear, I look like a red fish! Stepping onto the stage I make my mark, but with an ounce of dis~taste~!"_

The girl's voice was followed by an ebullient chorus of pristine voices sent goosebumps to the audience of the hall –dousing them with wonder as grins came upon their faces at the beauty of the theatrical performance. But the music and exuberant colors merely faded away before any of them can reach the corridors outside of the venue; for this was but a block of petunias in the vast, beauteous garden known as the Kimii Cultural Fiesta.

Each hallway of the school's buildings had been decked with bunting, posters, props, but most of all, people.

"Welcome! Would you like to join the Art club's portrait challenge? Only 150 yen to have your face painted by our most talented artists!"

"Hallo, hallo! Wouldn't you care for a slice of our special blueberry shortcake? Brought to you by Occult club!"

"See our school's very own fashion design club and their special guest Akiba idols! Their performance is at 3 PM. LIMITED TO TODAY!"

Cheery voices, upbeat music (live and not), a bright sunny day – just one look at the festival would have one think that it was the work of a collaboration of creative geniuses. And Rinka had to admit that she was impressed at all the work the rest of the students put into this. She would've applauded it had she not been holding dozens of freebies and prizes she got from the clubs she'd already tried out.

Taking a bite out of her strawberry choco-banana crepe, her emerald eyes looked up and about for the next attraction she should try out. She glanced at posters put up left and right – even up and down, if you wish – until her gaze dropped at an all-too-familiar bush of black, shabby hair coming from a sliding door from her right.

"Ah, Hayami."

Rinka eyed him from top to bottom for a moment before responding "Heavy weight lifting in the cultural festival?" this would have sounded sarcastic had she not sounded too serious while wording it out.

"Oh, this?" he slightly raised the two large boxes in his hold just to gesture to the 'heavy weight' she spoke about "I was asked by some seniors if I could help out with fixing a few things for the fiesta. Turns out, some clubs were short on time preparation due to the third years having schedule problems. That's why they need the extra hand."

"Making a slave of yourself, huh? That's too like you it's hard to hide my acerbity." She would've crossed her arms sardonically had it not been for the load in her arms, but her expression of (mock) disdain was enough for the other to get the message –and smile.

"When you put it that way, it's like you're saying I enjoy making a slave of myself. Though…" he took a brief second to have a good look at her before giving her his own sly smile "Seems to me I'm not the only one who's kept busy all morning."

The pigtailed sniper let her previous expression fall and replaced it with a knowing smile "Hmph, touché."

"Have you seen any of the others?"

"Nope. Not a single one of them." she shook her head for emphasis on her words. "It can't be helped though. Now that we're no longer as busy as we were, they're now scattered all over the area to go wherever they feel like creating chaos." she may have referred to all of them, but she particularly had Karma and Nakamura in mind. (But after a certain event from last night, Manami was also an afterthought)

Chiba chuckled at that "Can't say you're wrong about that. But I did hear that Isogai and the others have arrived; pretty sure Sugino and Karma must be with them."

"Mm. I heard from Nakamura."

"Are you gonna go meet them?"

"If I happen to pass them by, I'll leave them with a few greetings or so." She said this before taking an indifferent bite out of her crepe.

"I see." He settled for her response just like that. Albeit what Chiba was doing to himself now, he knew the two of them were no exception to wanting some time to themselves and other, less familiar people (in an inoffensive way) after all that time expended working.

"In any case, that must be getting heavy by now. You should be getting your errand done soon."

She found slight amusement in seeing him look over his shoulder to find he was lagging behind the rest of his seniors. "Ah, woops." He adjusted the weight he had on his shoulders and prepared to jog over to them, but not before glancing back at Rinka in a slightly hurried fashion.

"I'll see you later."

"Mm. See you." She let slip a small smile – which did not go unnoticed. Turning a heel, she proceeded to get back to what she was doing (which was basically anything but nothing).

Mumbling to herself, she managed to get a hand into her skirt pocket to read a pamphlet one of the seniors gave her in the midst of her wandering. The colors and gigantic text were typical of a restaurant booth by the cooking club – but it was needless to say that that Beef Stroganoff on the menu didn't catch even a bit of her attention. Never mind the price, that plate on the picture was tempting enough. So they better not fool her with photo-shopped food.

Rinka checked the watch on her wrist – it was 20 minutes to 1 PM.

"Guess I'll go have lunch here…" she mumbled to herself and put the pamphlet back. But not two steps after she did, her eyes fell upon an all-too-familiar figure crowned with blonde hair which was being roofed by arms laxly – walking in the opposite direction she was. The expression she had on looked placid (enough, at least), yet if the ginger hadn't known her too well by this time, the subtle discontentment on her face would have gone unnoticed.

Seeing this, Rinka raised an eyebrow.

"Yo." Rio halfheartedly greeted before stopping a few steps beyond her and let her arms fall effortlessly to her sides.

"What's up with you?" as no-nonsense as ever, she inquired despite the blonde's back towards her.

Rio sidestepped so she could face her fellow clubmate – displaying a rather dissatisfied expression which she even emphasized with the shrug of her shoulders and palms open in the air.

"No-thing mu-ch~" She elongated the vowels as she said this – sarcastically shaking her head as she was at it. "I was just wandering from club to club and trying to have fun."

"But then…?" even though she pressed it, Rinka didn't feign disinterest and dullness in her tone – and her expression was more than enough to show that. She already had a feeling she was right about whatever happened anyway.

Not for long, Rio let this countenance of hers drop and she almost looked like she was pouting. "_Someone_ couldn't take a joke and kicked me out of one, that's what. I'll admit that I may have touched on her weak spot, but not even I could believe she went that far, jeez." In mild annoyance, she placed her hands on her waist and crossed her eyebrows.

"Who are you talking about, anyway?" Rinka narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her story – unable to fully comprehend how on Earth things could have come to that.

Immediately after the pigtailed sniper saw the abrupt switch from pouty to mischievous on her clubmate's face, she regretted engaging a conversation with her in the first place.

With a palm positioned in front of her mouth and an evil look in her eye, she snickered

"Ohohoh, now _wouldn't you like to know~._"

"No I don—_Hey wai_—!"

* * *

"Welcome, masters!"

The squeaky voices of the maids from an improvised maid café in one of the 2nd year's classrooms couldn't possibly go overlooked. Not even a mere passerby could resist the temptation to glance (out of cringe or out of curiosity) at the room whenever any of the maids said something extremely and annoyingly cute.

It wasn't unusual. In every school, at least _one _of the clubs (let alone, the manga club) would set up a maid café during a high school cultural festival. This maid café in particular didn't look too different from what the rest of the building's interior did – there were buntings, colorful ribbons attached on the walls and to small posts where customers could line up, and the windows were stripped of their curtains to let in the bright light of the sun so that it reflected on the pearl-colored tiles and pale blue, concrete walls. The only differences that could be found were the multiple framed illustrations that were hung on every aesthetic corner of the walls of the room. Per se, there was nothing odd about it. But what puzzled the two girls that were, at the moment, sneakily taking a peek inside the room, was the presence of the certain _someone_ Rio was talking about before she dragged Rinka all the way here.

Rinka would have been infuriated with her now, had it not been for her own surprise when she laid eyes on none other than Fuwa Yuzuki – who currently had on a bright smile as she greeted newcomers, ended a number of sentences with _nya,_ and had a bounce in her step as she led each one to their tables to enquire their orders,

All while dressed in a frilly maid outfit with cat-ears on her head.

"Ueehh, I'm not seeing things right now, am I?" Rinka whispered – eyes furrowed with a look that was a mix of concern and disbelief as a drop of sweat formed at the side of her head.

In response to this, the blonde could only give a half-hearted laugh "I asked myself the same thing. But in any case," Rio's forced smile shifted to a rather cheeky one as she said,

"Let's drop by and say hello, shall we?"

After the last customer had entered, the short-haired manga-lover somewhat skipped to the entrance as she hugged a menu to her chest. And beaming with delight, she bowed in front of her next two customers.

"Welco-AHAHAHA**HAH?!**" but the moment her eyes looked up to see two people she knew far too well, Yuzuki's entire character faltered as she stiffened – bug-eyed and slack-jawed.

"I'm ba~ack~!" Rio casually waved to her with a grin that looked to innocent to say there was not a hint of cheekiness underneath that. And although that was enough for the coconut-head to twitch her eye, the addition of another person she did not wish to encounter today multiplied her embarrassment and contempt by five.

For, behind her, Rinka had her arms crossed and a cocked eyebrow – "care to explain yourself?" or something along those lines was written all over her face.

Yuzuki had to spend a few moments stuttering with a wide-eyed expression plastered on her face before she could actually react.

"G – you–! What –?! **Why are you here**?!"

"That's what we should be asking." The pigtailed ginger's fast response took the otaku aback as the embarrassment was beginning to take over her system again.

In an attempt to cover up that fact, she pouted, averted their stares, and crossed her arms "I-I'm just productively spending a little time trying to earn some money, there isn't a problem with that!"

"_Mmmm….?_" Both girls in front of her hummed – they were clearly unconvinced by such an excuse as they gave pejorative stares which she could actually feel without having to look at them.

"Gah! What do you want, anyway!?" it was clear from her tone, and the way she stood on her tiptoes with shoulders tensed and fists clenched that all she wanted was for them to get out of there. "And you!" she turned a vindictive gaze toward the blonde and pointed to her with an exaggerated finger.

"Didn't I tell you I was going to use your share of our money to print _that _photo of you on a large tarpaulin if I saw your face here again?!" there was a threatening fury in her eyes as she said this – even though it contradicted with the outfit she was wearing.

A _'tch' _came from her lips; but she kept her composure and crossed her arms challengingly as she said in a mock-whiny manner, "Don't be such a grumpy old troll about it now, Yuzuki-chan – oh wait, here they call you **_Nya_****zuki-tan **don't they?" she said that last bit with a sardonic bite in her words.

Instantaneously, the brunette felt as if she'd been shot-gunned in the head – and although that was just a picture in her head, the way she inhaled chokingly and twitched her eyes gave away how affected she was by that title.

In the midst of this banter, Rinka could only hum in very mild amusement. Rio seemed to be more pissed about being kicked out than she let out. And seeing the way things were going down, she thought it best to take a look at their menu now – which she took from Yuzuki's hold inconspicuously. It wasn't in her agenda to eat here, but now that things were going down this way, she might as well.

Somewhat regaining composure, Yuzuki tried to argue back defensively –but failed when she started stuttering "Th-that's only because the seniors said that all students not part of the club sh-should have a – a – !"

She couldn't bring herself to say 'Pet name'

"Aw, there's no need to be so down, Nyazuki-tan!" She waved her hand back and forth like she was effortlessly swatting a fly as she kept a teasing grin on. And it appeared that the blue-eyed trickster still felt unsatisfied by that effect on her, and continued sadistically "Besides, I was just kidding when I said '_I wonder how fast you'll agree if __**a certain someone**__ sees you here and asks you to sit on his la—_"

"PLEASE GO HOME!"

"Fuwa-san?"

Yuzuki's shoulders jerked up at the sound of one of the senior maid's voices as she froze in place.

"Is everything alright?" two of them had come from the makeshift kitchen of the room and looked to the three girls with concerned eyes.

Shakily, she turned her head over her shoulder and tried on her best smile of reassurance while letting out a nervous laugh.

"Y-yes, it's all good." She gave a thumbs-up and nodded – but that was to reassure herself more than her upperclassmen, however.

"Oh, we have more customers!" one of the two maids exclaimed with enthusiasm and pointed to the two girls by the classroom's entrance.

"Wha –?" her mouth was left agape at that.

"Fuwa-san, may you please get them a table." The other one said with a gentle smile as she used her arm to gesture to the next free table.

"B-But…" Yuzuki sighed in defeat – her form slumping a bit before turning to her clubmate's faces. One of them had on a triumphant and derisive grin while the other kept herself stone-faced as always (but if she looked closely, it was like she really enjoyed what just happened).

Pink eyes narrowed at them and were accompanied with a frown.

"Right this way, oh valued customers." She may have tried forcing herself to smile bubbly for them – but to no avail. She only ended up sounding like she worked in a funeral parlor and was about to lead the two into some kind of torture chamber. This didn't go unnoticed, however, for both Rio and Rinka believe they could have felt the negativity of her aura from a mile away and sweatdropped – it made them almost want to tell her it was all just for fun and finally leave her in her peace.

Almost.

"Thank you so much for your help, Fuwa-san. You really saved us." She heard one of the other maids– the club president of the manga club – tell her with a smile of approval and gratefulness.

"Haha…Don't mention it."

* * *

"Oi! Nyazuki-tan! Over here please!"

It was a good thing Yuzuki had her back turned on the voice of the boy that called her – she would have rendered him as soulless as the reaper now by the murderous glare that surfaced upon her features for a split-second, and how her eye just twitched at how appalled she was by the call. Nevertheless, she maintained her composure and mustered the sweetest beam she could (no matter how hard it was) as she turned around and replied to her customer.

"Yes! Please wait for just one moment, nya~!" And with that, she skipped over to their table in the most _moe_ way possible – even bending over in an exaggerated manner as she took their order.

Meanwhile, the two friends whom she was forced to serve before them could do nothing more than watch her – with rather bemused faces at how she was able to completely act out a personality if she wanted to. Just how much manga has this girl read?

"Th-they really do call her that…" Rio commented with a sweatdrop – her cheek cupped by her palm as her perplexed blue eyes followed the figure of the person she was beginning not to recognize anymore. After a sigh, she smiled, fairly delighted at what she was seeing.

"But well, it looks like she's sort of having fun. Yuzuki-chan's gotten a little bold since Hide and Seek, huh? Seems like not only one of us is changing." She said with a genuine smile as she leaned back in a lax manner on her seat. Her orange-haired companion – who kept herself occupied with some of the manga that was provided on the table – flipped a page before replying.

"Is that why you're still here? To keep yourself entertained with that development?" her emerald eyes were not lifted from the _seinen_ manga page in her hand, and her tone didn't sound very inquisitive – but it yearned for an answer.

Nonetheless, being used to this after working with her on the aforementioned Cultural Festival project, Rio shrugged and cupped her face with both her hands as she rested her elbows on the table.

Just in time, one of the maids came to their table and served them what they respectively ordered – and while all Rio ordered was a drink, Rinka apparently had enough money to buy herself an entire Beef stroganoff meal + drinks and potato salad.

Rio took the straw of her drink and started to twirl the ice inside "Well, that's not all there is to it." Her blue eyes fell on her coconut-haired friend once more – at the moment, she was going around tables and laying down the meals upon each table with commendable endurance she must have gained from assassination lessons. "For me, it's always a sight to see someone grow from what they used to be. Don't you think so?" the blonde flashed a bright smile – looking genuinely happy about her friend's development.

"I mean, Yuzuki-chan's never been this hardworking and proactive when we both first met her in middle school. She was always an observer now that I think about it – usually spouting out weird comments here and there, and was considered to be nothing more than a manga-obsessed girl with detective skills. Looking at her now, it's like she tried growing out of that by doing something that isn't like herself, yet is sucking it up. Don't you think that's something fun to think about?"

The way how her blonde-haired friend sounded – dare she even think it – prudent just now managed to bring Rinka's attention away from her book as she turned to look to where Yuzuki was as well; and she had to admit that this mischievous trickster was right. That's a girl that wants to be a future diplomat for you. She didn't notice it until later, but somehow a very small smile made it to her face "Guess so."

Rinka faced her again – but returned to her stoic countenance as she prepared to take a bite out of her meal "For someone that let her friend go through a lot of misery and humiliation not twenty minutes ago, you're quite the thoughtful type."

At that, the blonde gave a 'hmph' sound – yet didn't let her smile leave her face as she shrugged "Aw, when you say it like that, it's like you're saying I don't seem capable of treating people nicely~" she grinned and tilted her head on one of the palms supporting her cheeks after she rested her chin upon them. As Rinka mentally noted in her head _"But you don't."_, Rio continued speaking.

"I just hate having to do things the boring way. There's no fun if everything's done normally, right?"

"Hm?" Rinka's eyes were shut gently as she chewed on her food before replying "That sounds just like you."

"Right?" A hum of delight came from the cheeky blonde once more when she gave another one of her savvy smiles to herself and sipped on her drink. "And I'm proud of that~"

"Though this is a little out of topic, there's something I've been wondering."

"What?"

Rinka –practicing proper etiquette – finished wiping her mouth before speaking "When I think about what you said, I have to say that I expected you to be with Nagisa-kun and the others today – you were even the one who told me they were coming. Is there a reason for that?"

And while Rio was as skilled as Karma in feigning expressions, the split-second when she was caught off-guard did not escape Rinka's sharp eye – which narrowed with slight suspicion. But by how well she masked it, she doubted whether it was her imagination or not.

"Eh? Hah, that's because –"

"Customer, please do not get any closer…"

The helpless voice of one of the sophomore maids was able to grab both girls' attention as they sharply looked to its origin. What were the odds of one of the maids in a high school maid café eventually getting harassed by some witless outsiders?

100%.

"Isn't this alright? You were hired to do these things, weren't you?" the sickeningly flirty tone one of the boys used as he grabbed a wad of the young girl's hair and sniffed it – the other two of his companions snickering at the flustered reaction of the girl whose back was against a wall that was far away from the rest of the customers. But since the two girls from combat club were relatively near, it didn't slip any of their keen hearing.

At the sight, Rinka scoffed "This thing again?"

"Do these people never watch TV?" the blonde couldn't have sounded nor looked more bored than she did when she said that – suddenly losing all the enthusiasm she had when she got here.

Despite the way both girls responded to the situation, both knew that their sense of combat club duty and, of course, bloodlust was stimulated by the scene.

"U-um, I would think it best for you to stop immediately, before…" her voice came high-pitched and in a tone of great embarrassment. She kept an amount of distance between herself and her intimidator by looking to the side.

Why is it always this type of girl that gets attacked?

Fed up, another boy – whom Rinka observed to be a sophomore of Kimii – was preparing to stand up and looked just about ready to punch the guy if it's what's going to bring him to his place.

"Before what?" the boy, who looked no older than seventeen, grinned down like a predator that caught its prey with an arrogant glint in his eye.

But before he knew it, a wet, sticky, yet somehow sweet type of liquid was doused all over his head. He had been so caught by surprise that only by the time the sticky liquid reached his shoulders did he slowly turn to the _imbecile_ (as he pertained to whoever it was in his mind) that dared to try such a thing with a hateful glare.

"Ah, my bad~!" Rio laughed and feigned guilt by the way she placed a hand over her mouth in a rather exaggerated manner.

Although, he was indeed caught by mild surprise once more to find out it was a girl – who looked up in an almost clueless manner at him with an empty cup in hand – that interrupted his antics; but not as much as the other male that was just about stand and mediate the situation, yet froze midway with a ridiculously shocked expression.

In fact, the pigtailed sniper herself could only manage a startled "Heh?" and had to process how she got there by looking back at the space she occupied a mere moment ago – her mind even visualized dotted-lines that took the shape of her blonde friend's form before it finally sunk in.

"There was a little bit of dirt there so I just thought I'd try washing it off…" she rubbed the back of her head in a sheepish fashion, but eventually killed the front with the dark look she had in her eye – like she usually would whenever she dealt with thugs like these.

"But it seems it's quite the stain…" and with a sadistic grin accompanied with a taunting wink, Rinka had to stifle an exasperated sigh from where she sat.

_Aah, not again…_ – she contemplated on retreating after a while and prepared the payment for their food (and feeling relatively sympathetic, even left some money to pay for Rio's).

Though, she'd be lying if she said she didn't stay long enough to enjoy the show.

* * *

The sounds of the cultural festival outside of the school buildings were even more blaring than they were inside. The horrible mix of people screaming, chattering, and music from both good and bad quality speakers was hardly bearable – but this was the essence of a Literate Academy's Festival.

Karma, in fact, was managing well in the crowd that looked like it could suck a small child in and that child can never be found again – but that's only because he was tall, and has mastered the ability to keep himself stable thanks to him always taking the train. Between his lips was a plastic straw from the juicebox he held in one hand as he read a small pamphlet – from his most recent stall visit – he held in the other.

"Uwah, what a hard bargain." He commented with astonishment laced on his voice and decided to throw both the pamphlet and his finished juicebox to the nearest trash can. Ah Karma, always nitty-gritty when it comes to money.

For a while, in spite of all the noise around him, he tried to follow the familiar sounds that would lead him back to where some of his friends were waiting for him – with the most dependable sound being the voice of a screaming Kayano and Kataoka, both amplified by mics.

He knew he found it when his eyes caught sight of a small stage set-up just behind the opened, front gate of the school. Despite being miniature, there was a heading above the stage fancy enough to make it look like an important event– with eye-catching kanji that read "**日本文化クイズビー****(Japanese Culture Quiz Bee)"** – and yes, Kayano, Kanzaki, and Kataoka were participating in it; with great passion…and fury.

"HEY! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR POINT!" yelled the greenette while pointing to the team sitting by the table directly across theirs (though in a safe distance as each team was stationed by each end of the stage). The anger was clear from the way her eyes looked like a more intense version of every angry chibi character the world of anime had ever seen, and how her teeth seemed to become sharp as she spouted out her hateful words. In essence, she had on the same expression she would if someone ever mentioned the name "Forever 0" again.

"SHE'S RIGHT! JUST NOW, THAT GIRL COMMITTED A FOUL MISTAKE! THAT CALLS FOR DISQUALIFICATION DOESN'T IT?!" Kataoka slammed her fist to the table – with the mics jumping as an aftereffect – as she mirrored the same expression as her green-haired friend. Although the former class rep was a generally composed and mature figure to be looked up to, when it came to competitions that threatened her very own pride, one would expect that the fierce class officer would fight the battle with fiery passion.

The hostess of the quiz bee, whom they both yelled at, had to clutch the skirt of her Yukata as she shakily held her mic and forced her friendly "generic hostess" smile "U-Um, please refrain from violen –"

"THEY'RE DELUSIONAL!" the hostess' attempt to pacify the situation had been cut short, however, as the opposing team of the former class E girls could be considered just as competitive as they were – and just as loud.

"DESPICABLE!" another one of them fired with her arms crossed over school uniform while she looked down on her opponents with absolute disgust.

"OUTRIGHT REPULSIVE!" And it seems their side of the team wasn't done yet when the last one joined in the war of insults.

"Please, this is just a quiz bee. Do not make such a big deal out of it." By her tone, it was clear that the hostess was beginning to become impatient with the way each team was acting – and the smile she forced herself to keep on made it more convincing how irritated she was by now.

"IT BECAME A WAR EVER SINCE SHE PULLED A TRICK LIKE THAT!"

"YEAH! KATAOKA LET 'EM HAVE IT!" of the audience, Maehara had been the most avid supporter of his friends and looked like he was having the most fun – which made him deviate from his companions, who can only look on with sweatdrops and undying anxiety.

"Th-things got out of hand quicker than I expected…" Sugino commented – arms crossed from the tension in his shoulders as his teeth were grit together in almost a frown.

"I'm more worried about the hostess now…" Isogai followed with a bleak smile as he watched the scene – reflected on his eyes was a type of anticipation that was ready for another disaster to happen.

Just as things appeared to be going to hell faster than expected, the raven-haired Madonna of the assassination classroom decided to intervene "Kayano-san, Kataoka-san, let us compose ourselves. These girls may have just as much potential as they may seem to."

At that, the three boys in the audience seemed to have dropped their earlier expressions, and looked up to the girl in puzzlement and incredulity.

"Could it be?" Isogai uttered in a low voice as his other two companions were standing next to him on both sides.

"Kanzaki-san, so amiable!" Sugino exclaimed with utmost awe at his longtime crush. Despite her audience, Kanzaki kept herself composed and sophisticated – almost like an actual Japanese Noble from the medieval times.

On the other side of the stage, however, were girls of the complete opposite – with sneers on their faces as they continued to yell "Yeah! You better listen to her!"

"You cocky first-years shouldn't be quick to underestimate us!"

Without much effort, Kanzaki stifled a chuckle and placed a hand over her lips gently,

"_But __**garbage**__ shouldn't talk like it has a chance to be more than it is now, should it?"_ and with a dangerous glint in her eye, she leaned her head back slightly to look down on them in such a way that a predator would undervalue its prey – a ghastly 'ohohohoho…' coming from her afterwards, causing her other two companions to forget their own fury for a moment and sweatdrop at the girl's unique competitiveness.

"S-She just shot them with the Kanzaki obloquy!" both Sugino and Maehara yelped out their thoughts as both nearly pulled their hair off from immense shock and amazement.

"You're kidding! It's _that _extreme of a competition?!" Isogai cried with his bulged eyes towards the unexpectedly hostile girl– it's not everyday you see Kanzaki _this _indulged in a heated competition.

"And to think the all they'll be getting is a Gift Certificate and some sweets…" the former class rep furrowed his eyebrows when he made himself aware of that fact once more – biting his lip in vexation.

The volume of the crowd in front of the stage was controlled by a row of temporary railings close to it and far from it – like they would for concerts; but it wasn't like anyone was a daredevil enough to get too close to that stage. In the slightly far back, Karma caught sight of his best friend's signature blue pigtails (which he is yet to cut). There weren't a lot of people crowding the area, so the redhead found his friend in a rather spacious area with his elbows rested behind him – just on top of the railings like he were some cool guy (what a show-off).

Approaching him, he caught his attention with a single comment if "It's gotten pretty intense, huh?" before resting himself on the railings a fair distance from the pigtailed boy.

Nagisa nodded and faced the stage again "And only 10 minutes in…"

It wasn't too long before Nagisa's wary expression shifted to one of complete surprise at the turn of events. He may have not exactly heard what happened, but he was pretty certain that the word "flat" had to be part of it – why else would Akari throw her shoe at the other team's member's face?

"HEY! Isn't that against the rules?!" one of the girls shouted with her finger pointing violently at the hostess – her other companion was occupied picking the one who had been attacked from the floor and checked if she was still conscious.

This time, the hostess didn't try to smile as she shouted back "There's nothing written about it! This game was never supposed to be violent! And if I had my way I would have disqualified **_all of you_**!"

And, as usual, the crazy red-haired freak seemed to be enjoying himself with the flow of events, while his best friend remained uneasy and wore a look of "really?" on his face. Nagisa sighed, seeing as he can't do anything about it now and should be used to it – well, guess he's gonna have to convince her to apologize properly later (for all of their sakes).

Karma chose the moment things (relatively) calmed down as the best time to start a conversation – without taking his eyes off the show before him, he started, "Kayano-chan – no, Akari-chan looks like she's gotten used to keeping the act on stage and on screen. It seems she's having more fun just by being herself." His smile grew slightly wider in amusement as he watched how Kataoka and Kanzaki had to hold the furious green-haired girl back.

Blue eyes had to soften at that statement – particularly as he stared at the one he was talking about as a tender feeling formed inside of him. As his blue pigtails were gently flying with the breeze that passed them by, Nagisa lowered his head and closed his eyes with a smile in reminiscence of a few events in his life that led to how he and Akari were today.

And on that note, he remembered something. "Speaking of which,"

He turned his head so he was now looking at Karma "How's it been?"

Immediately, Karma knew what he was talking about, looked at Nagisa by the corner of his eyes, and sighed to the straw of his juicebox before lowering it down and facing the stage. "To put simply, things don't look like they're gonna change soon." He shrugged at that blithely and was ready to get rid of the topic before –

"And how do you feel about that?"

"What are you, my psychiatrist? I'm grateful, but I don't think I need one – especially from a guy that doesn't even look like he's got his own way of living handled properly." – and though Nagisa knew he was blatantly talking about the pigtails and his issues with his mom, he feigned to be unaffected and kept a smug smirk on while he waited for his best friend's answer.

Karma narrowed his eyes – so he _is _set on talking about it. What a slippery little sneak. After another sigh, the redhead leaned back and threw his juicebox behind him – and with amazing accuracy, it landed exactly in the recyclables bin.

He put his hands in his pockets and started "I'll admit. For now, I'm satisfied with just that." He didn't even need to turn his head to know that Nagisa gave him a look just now "But that doesn't mean I won't be making any moves soon." With a smirk, he faced the blue-haired boy "I'm not so much of a coward as to not try anything."

"I can agree. You're not the type to back down – proof of that's still clear on a bruise you made that's still healing."

Both laughed at the memory – but Nagisa only did so rather halfheartedly, especially with the way Karma didn't even look sorry for it. That civil war may have amended friendships, but it tore open wounds – literally.

After the short reminiscence session, the usually sharp, blue orbs of the former assassin seemed to gleam with a hint of ease as they faced the redhead once more "You've come to take it rather well."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Nagisa. If anything, continuing to fool myself immaturely would only stain my down-to-earth reputation, and I can't have that." He put his hands inside his pockets and lowered his head – eyes gently closed in a manner that displayed how much he didn't really like talking about this type of thing. However,

"And…when I really think about it…" his sudden shift in tone caused Nagisa to look at him with a mix of surprise and expectancy in his eyes.

As his hair danced in the cool wind that passed by, Karma's tone of voice lowered – becoming more firm and contemplative.

"At all costs, I don't want to lose her to anyone."

Nagisa was left astonished by the amount of straightforward determination he just displayed. The often impenetrable look in eyes was broken – now, they were distant, yet firm as he put in to words such a resolve. It had been fun, for a while, to see this boy get behind him in the game of life that one time, but at this rate he's gonna beat him.

"So? Does that satisfy you?" the expression Karma had on was broken immediately, and had been replaced by a rather disinterested one.

The pigtailed boy could only nod, seeing his generic attitude again "Mm. I think I've heard enough."

Nagisa paused for a while and looked at the Akari again (in a more calmed down state) "If I'm gonna be honest, I had almost the exact same thoughts."

His best friend's sudden openness about this topic caught Karma's attention – having him turn to him to indicate that he was listening rather well.

With blue orbs softened, a reminiscent smile slightly pulled his lips up "A lot happened between us before we got to this point. And as it turns out, surprisingly those thoughts aren't any different from now." Nagisa kept his smile and turned to his best friend again in a somewhat knowing fashion.

"The agony doesn't stop."

Just then, Karma recalled that time he helped the said greenette with these love problems along with Nakamura. He doesn't know what it took for them to get to this level, but deep down, he'd have to applaud the girl – getting his denser-than-a-brick-wall best friend to look at her in the way he's talking about her right now must have been quite the mountain range to climb (He'll probably tease her about it later when he gets the chance).

But Karma will never admit that – he'll never hear the end of it. He didn't even bother to ask about the "a lot of things happened" he mentioned, for it must be a long and painful story of misunderstandings. Instead, he wore a trademark smile of his own, and slightly turned his eyes up to catch a glimpse of the orange clouds that flew above them.

"Hehh? Just now, you sounded like a real adult."

Nagisa couldn't help but scoff a little at that "Believe me, I'm far from that."

A sigh escaped Karma's lips – _what an annoying brat – _he thought before punching the guy on his arm.

"Ah!" pain shot through the pigtailed boy's arm; and Nagisa didn't even need to face him to know that he was smiling when he said "I know."

Although this was a friendly gesture, it seemed the sadistic demon of Class E didn't know his own strength as a pained hiss came from the victim of this.

"Tsch…it was there…" Nagisa's body slouched greatly as he held on to the part of his arm that was throbbing under his grip – and just when it finally stopped hurting after all these months.

On the other hand, of course, Karma just laughed – it was a rare, genuine one, like he was content with himself; and, deep down, a lot of other things as well.

As Nagisa continued to soothe his injury by rubbing it, he slightly opened one of his eyes so that he would glance at his friend – and thus came upon a certain observation.

_'Karma…he looks happier than the last time I saw him' _he thought – blinking his eyes rather curiously.

He took one last look at Karma's seemingly pleased expression – his eyes were on the stage, yet there was a degree of detachment that can be detected – and though his mind was almost always elsewhere, this time it was the type of detachment that you can read, for it was akin to how a child would daydream of his future and not feel the slightest bit worried.

Nagisa smiled – _that's more like it_.

* * *

Footsteps upon tiled flooring had been amplified by the quiet, empty corridors – bouncing off the concrete walls as if to resonate in one's ears. It wasn't a wonder why this floor alone was devoid of all joie de vivre. Not only was it in the basement floor, but there was nothing there but some old classrooms that were turned into "Top Secret Faculty Meeting Areas", and the nurse's office – the place which the blonde was heading over to now.

"Aah…" with a pout and crossed arms, Rio sighed out of bitterness – her blue-eyed stare narrowed to the side of the floor "Why do _I _have to be the one that has to get the stuff from the nurse's office?" she said with a sour tone; it was clear she wasn't at all fond of the turn of events that occurred.

"Someone that arrogant shouldn't be hitting on girls like that if all it takes is one hit to get him knocked out." She complained, and her mind flashed back to what happened to her 15 minutes prior to this.

_Laid on the ground was the man that had attacked the maid in the café, with both the blonde and said maid towering over him to check if he was alright – with the former even poking the guy's stupid grinning face for good measure as a sweatdrop came to the side of her head. _

_"O-Oi, are you okay?" she even asked then. And while she continued to feel rather uneasy about the guy's health, the maid she just helped out stuttered "I-I'll call the club president…" and then scurried away. _

Rio made a 'Tch' sound with her closed teeth "And if they had a maid protection squad, then why didn't they come earlier?" she whined and kicked off some dust from the floor with her shoe as she kept walking.

"Rinka even ditched me while I was getting told off…" she said with a betrayed yet completely unsurprised tone as the memory of seeing their empty table, without the pigtailed sniper, replayed. All she saw on top was the payment for their food, and couldn't help but twitch her eyebrow that time.

The blue-orbed girl stopped in her tracks for a moment to sigh at that recollection.

"I didn't even get a single sip out of that drink!" she complained once more, outraged – with clenched her fists as she stomped on the floor repeatedly, but not exaggeratedly – just like how a 9 year old would throw a tantrum after not getting what she wanted. Normally, this wouldn't have been okay, but since she was alone, it was no problem.

She huffed and let some hair out of her face before she continued to walk to her destination – the sooner it's over with, the better. With another long silence alone, Rio's tone of voice became much more calm and contemplative.

"Well…I did go a little too far…" – she admitted, her steps becoming just a tiny bit slower.

And sighing again, she said to herself "Really, I should get a hold of myself…" Her brows were furrowed as she crossed her arms – some of her fingers gently curled at the side of her uniform.

"Oh?" She was snapped out of this state, however, when her eyes fell on a very familiar face heading from the opposite direction, but it seemed that they had the same terminus. Upon having eye contact with her, the other looked just as surprised to see Rio there.

"Interesting seeing you here. Weren't you together with Karma and the others?" Rio asked with genuine curiosity.

Sugino rubbed the back of his head "I was, but…" he paused to shift his expression from a normal one to one of disgruntlement – a sweatdrop forming at the side of his head as his eyes turned to look to the side. That expression of his only meant one thing – it wasn't a very good experience.

"In simple terms, what was supposed to be a heated competition between two competitive teams ended up in a riot and caused the hostess to require special medical attention. Since Isogai's checking on her right now, he asked me if I could go get the nurse." He finished with his hands falling on his hips.

Typically, the blonde replied with a "Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun." – and Sugino wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not at this point, but just accepted that her personality is to blame for it all.

"Though, I think it would have been better if they kept their cool just a little bit more…" The baseball-lover heaved another sigh as though he were exhausted, and lowered his hand from his head. "Well? What's your reason for being here?"

"I just hit someone too hard, is all." She said ever-so dismissively as she took a few steps closer to the double-doors of the nurse's office.

"Why do I feel uneasy hearing that…?" Sugino had to suppress a slight shudder at the thought of what Nakamura may have done. There was such a large variety for what her statement meant, and thinking about each of them from the worst thing to the most horrible thing didn't make him feel any better.

"Aw, don't be such a baby~" Rio waved her hand flippantly before latching her hands onto the handles of the doors " 'sides, it was bound to happen anyway." And, preventing Sugino from saying anything more, she burst the doors open in an exaggerated manner – causing a loud bang to echo in the room and hallways.

"Ya-ho! Inari Sensei~? – eh?" she muttered out that last part after she noticed something wrong with this office.

"No one's in here…" Rio put into words her observation with a look of mild surprise and confusion – mirroring her baseball-loving friend's. The two of them stepped inside the room and scanned the area for confirmation of the previous statement. And there was no doubt – not a single patient was there and the beds looked to be untouched so far. The lights weren't on either, and the only source that allowed them to see was the sunset's rays that came through the thin curtains of the office and enveloped the room in a bright orange hue.

Sugino furrowed his eyebrows and turned to his friend with confusion in his eyes "She's out?"

In response to this, the blonde shrugged then turned away – thinking about something "Hm, if that's so, then why isn't there a – "

"Excuse me, may I help you?" sharply, the two first-years shifted their positions to face the entrance of the office. When both realized that they were met with the familiar face of one of the assistant nurses, they relaxed their forms.

"Ah, are you the sub-nurse?" Rio asked politely – earning her a split-second glance from Sugino.

The brunette, who the two noted to probably be younger than Inari-sensei, with an exhausted voice, released a breath and approached them as she replied.

"Well, yes I believe you can say that." despite how visibly tired she was, the sub-nurse had no still managed to keep a warm smile towards the children.

"I'm Mrs. Shinozaki Eriko. What is it that you need?"

* * *

"Mm, I see. Okay, I think I know what to get for the both of you." The assistant nurse lowered her hand from her chin with a smile.

"Though, what you need isn't here, so I'll have to go get them from outside. Please forgive me, however – I may take a while since the other meds are still with some sports clubs, and I still have to attend to someone there because of a serious injury. Even though I have a student medical team roaming around helping me, our materials are still a little limited, so I'd have to run back and forth for them sometimes."

"N-No, please take your time. We're also sorry for the trouble." – Sugino in his usual friendly and respectful manner.

Shinozaki-sensei smiled apologetically "Sorry if I have to make you wait. It appears that our head nurse, Yamazaki-sensei, had an important matter to attend to that she couldn't afford to miss, it seems. I'd hate for you to feel that I'm belittling your problem, but for now I'll have to accommodate one more person before I can give you what you need."

"Yamazaki-sensei?" Rio tilted her head at the name.

"Oh, that's right she lets you call her 'Inari-sensei', correct? She prefers that over her last name so it's no wonder you're unfamiliar with it."

At the new piece of information, the two 1st years merely nodded in understanding and shrugged at one another – as if some silent conversation occurred between them.

"Then, I'll have to excuse myself for now. Please wait here." She turned a heel and prepared to leave, but was stopped when she heard the voice of the baseball player.

"We're really sorry." Sugino said respectfully, but the nurse waved her hand at him – indicating it wasn't a big deal. And with that, she left the two to wait.

Not much silence passed before Rio was able to strike up another conversation topic "Just wondering, but why did Inari-sensei suddenly decide to take a leave of all the times?"

The spiky-haired boy merely shrugged at her – somewhat mirroring the puzzlement on her face "I don't know – but knowing her, I don't think she'd skip out on her job if it wasn't something important."

"Hm, you think so?" the blonde still pressed – a shred of doubt and suspicion laced on her voice.

Sugino shrugged once more "Well, it's not like we can ask her right now. But it's a good thing she was able to find someone to fill in for her." He placed a hand behind his head and looked to some of his surroundings while he spoke.

"Though if Shinozaki-sensei becomes too occupied, that's gonna be a problem. I hope Nagisa and Kayano can control the situation for a little longer. And that Isogai, I wonder if he knows what he's doing…" he trailed off when he realized that his blonde friend had most likely not heard a word of what he just said as she was busy being fascinated by some of the display materials of the nurse' office – making sounds such as "ooh!" or "Aah!" each time she found something that caught her interest.

"Uwah! They have something like this in here?" Her blue orbs were somewhat glistening with wonder as she tampered with a book that seemed to be about places on the human anatomy that are extra sensitive to mobility.

At the sight, Sugino's shoulders slumped "I should have known…" – unsurprised that he was blatantly ignored, he too decided to entertain himself with his surroundings out of boredom for a while.

That was until something came to his mind out of curiosity, and he turned back to the blonde trickster – whom now held in her hands someone's cemented teeth.

"By the way, you haven't come to greet any of them yet, have you? – Nagisa and the others, I mean."

At his statement, Rio, though in an almost unnoticeable manner, was caught off guard, and unknowingly momentarily paused in her playing with the teeth as he continued to speak "Some of them were even asking where you were."

Smirking, the blonde turned to face him – putting a hand on her cheek as she said in a teasing manner "Ehh~? It's touching to know how much they miss me."

"Then why haven't you come to see them?" the baseball-lover asked – ignoring her behavior.

"I'm busier than I look, you know?" This time, Rio picked up a small book (it was about different types of foot diseases) and carried on with her childlike antics as she responded.

"That's the first I've heard of that…" Sugino raised an eyebrow at her reply and couldn't help but feel more suspicious of her behavior. Now that he'd actually paid attention, there's something a little odd about his blonde friend today; but he wasn't quite sure what it was – he even has doubts whether he's imagining this or not.

"Why are you so set on getting an answer from me about that?" her blue eyes were kept on the book as she flipped a page.

Then, Sugino chose not to ignore his suspicions any longer and replied to her somewhat apprehensively "Well…I may be wrong, but…with the way you're taking it, doesn't it seem like you're avoi – OW!"

She didn't even give him a chance to finish before she whacked him on the head using the book she was just reading. What's worse, apparently the force she had used had been a little bit more than she had planned it to be, for the poor boy, surprised as he already was at the abrupt violence, ended up hitting a shelf behind him at her blow.

In a series of loud _thuds_, _clunks_ and _clatters_, a disarray of objects had crashed onto the tiled floor from the top of the shelf – some of them even hitting Sugino's head again in the process.

"Ah…" With a hiss of pain, the spiky haired boy rubbed his throbbing head before sharply turning back to Rio – anger evident in his glare as he yelled at her vehemently (which was rare as it is) "What's your problem?!"

In response to this, the blonde glared back and scoffed – looking at him incredulously "Me? Well _you_ shouldn't just jump into conclusions and say stuff like that! It's rather rude, even for me." She crossed her arms at him – still keeping a challenging glare.

Sugino clicked his tongue at her attitude. But if he argued back, then surely there'd end up being no end to it until Rio forces herself to come out as the winner. Deciding to be the mature and better person, he chose not to argue anymore as it would all just be pointless in the end, especially if it's over something like this – it wasn't worth it.

So, albeit begrudgingly and insincerely, he looked away and grumbled "My bad then."

He then took notice of the mess they now had to take care of, and felt even more exasperated "Tsk. Aah, look what you did." He said irritably and crouched down to look where to start cleaning up.

Despite what he said, Rio said nothing in reply – an indication that she acknowledges what she did wrong (but was still too prideful to admit it). However, once she took notice of the objects that were scattered on the floor, the blonde felt her anger slowly dissipate as she was then overcome by a wave of curiosity. There were folders, papers, files, some old mementos, and even an opened suitcase – facing the floor – where she assumed most of the items came from. She took a few more seconds to scan the clatter of things and noted that it was indeed a peculiar collection – for something that fell from a shelf in the nurse's office, that is.

"What's all this doing here?" she took a step forward, but stopped when she noticed that her foot had landed on a piece of paper – moving her foot a tad, she discerned that it was a photo faced down.

"Hm? What do we have here?" curious, the blonde crouched down to pick it up – and at the first glance, she couldn't help but give a derisive scoff. "Hehh? What's this now?" she grinned mischievously at the picture of a child-version of her bespectacled friend. Hearing her up-to-no-good voice again, Sugino kept his back turned to her as he tried his best not to roll his eyes and chose to try his best and ignore her this time.

"Now, what would this be doing here? Don't tell me, does Inari-sensei keep a stash of some of their most embarrassing secrets in her office? Hah! Now wouldn't that be amusing. I'm guessing she thought this was an ideal hiding spot or something~" She joked and chuckled to herself, her impish nature surfacing once more – but her fun was cut short when she realized something off about the picture.

In the lower right, in somewhat blurred letters that were hard to catch at first glance, she could make out a name,

_Katou Hanako_

Rio blinked in question. She took a good look at the photo for good measure, and then blinked twice before her eyes narrowed with puzzlement.

"Hey, Sugino."

"What?"

The blonde skootched over to him and allowed him to have a look at the photo in her hand "This is Manami-chan, right?"

Noticing she didn't sound like she was fooling around this time, Sugino did what she wanted him to do and took a look at it.

"Looks like it." He simply said after just one small glance at it. However, much to his confusion, his blonde trickster friend didn't seem satisfied by the answer – in fact, it looked as if she only got even more confused.

"That's weird…Then why is a different name written here?" her brows were scrunched together in puzzlement. The sporty boy, starting to get confused as well, decided to look at the photo one more time. There was no doubt in his mind that the girl in the photo was the poison-loving girl he saw almost everyday, but this time, he too noticed the name and began to wonder as well.

"Katou…Hanako? Maybe it was supposed to be sent to someone with that name – like a postcard." He speculated some of the possibilities of this small predicament from the top of his head – this statement of his earned him a rather annoyed look from the blue-orbed girl though.

"Who'd send something like this as a postcard? There's barely any scenery and there isn't even a message written at the back." She snapped at him with clear annoyance – not at him, but just at what he said. Albeit that were the case, the baseball veteran could already feel his earlier irritation forming once more, but kept himself composed – that didn't stop him from giving her an annoyed look of his own for a short moment, however.

"I'm just suggesting things." He said calmly, shrugged, and raised his hands in a somewhat defensive way.

Rio placed her investigative gaze back on the picture in her hand "Actually, from the looks of it, this was taken a really long time ago – this girl that looks like Manami was asked to look at the taker's way and the one holding the camera took a shot. That's all that I can tell as far as my deduction skills go." – at the back of her mind, the blonde silently wished that their otaku friend was there with them.

"Hmm…" Sugino hummed thoughtfully – trying to get his head around it as well. Now, why would someone who looks almost exactly like Manami be in a photo as old as that? Not to mention, there was a name written there they knew nothing about.

Everything's just strange…

Sighing at his thoughts, he leaned back and let his hand support his body behind him – but immediately after, he felt something underneath his palm and checked to see what it was.

He recognized the object to be a folder – it felt like one too before he even looked. Sugino curiously stared down at it for a brief moment – it looked old yet a little well-preserved since it was still in one piece, save for the logo he couldn't seem to decipher due to it being blurred. He let another moment pass, and then decided to move his hand slightly.

His guess was right, it revealed a name – _Okuda Hanako_

"Hey, Nakamura." he found that she was still deeply thinking about something when he called her name. After she looked at him, he handed the folder to her "Look here."

Rio cocked an eyebrow as she read "Okuda Hanako?"

Unintentionally, she released a breath in relief – even the tension in her shoulders had gone and her expression relaxed once she took into account the information.

"Well, what do you know? It's her mom." She laughed – mostly to herself for not even thinking of such a possibility as she held the folder with both hands, and by force of habit, opened it. "They look so alike I can barely even differentiate the two – "

She cut herself off once she laid her eyes on the contents of the folder, and in that instant, her smile dropped and her eyebrows rose in shock.

When she opened the folder, she expected to see something like a profile; with the basic information such as an address and/or some expired passports or just more pictures – but she wasn't expecting to find the medical records of the woman… And before Rio knew it, her eyes were too fast to read a few certain words without thinking.

_Hemorrhage _

_Health Deterioration_

_Weakness_

The set of words she took into account only added to the confusion of the blonde – but they also gave her quite a shock as well as a sense of brooding as she absently read on. Rio then noticed that at the back of the paper she was reading was another one stapled behind it – and it only took one slight lift of the page for her to feel her blood run cold.

It was a death certificate – of the woman she was reading about.

And although Rio could no longer bear to read anymore, her eyes were still able to catch a few words.

**_Suffering from: Health Deterioration and weakness_**

**_Primary Cause: Childbirth_**

**_Secondary Cause: Overdose_**

Almost hastily, she flipped it back down, and looked to the floor in deep thought as she tried to piece things together – her brows were furrowed as if she was desperately asking many questions in her mind that she could not bring to words. Deep down, she was certain that this wasn't her business – that she shouldn't look any more than she just did.

But there was another question in her mind that kept her from really leaving it alone.

And while Rio was trying to get her head around it and remained silent, Sugino was preparing to fix the mess – but that was until he found a rather attention-grabbing photo from underneath one of the sets of folders he just lifted. Picking it up, he looked at it a little more closely, and found himself to be mildly surprised.

"Huh? Isn't this…Inari-sensei?"

His words apparently brought the blonde out of her thoughts – her hands instinctively closing the folder sharply as she turned to him. And though she was usually good at masking her emotions, this time she couldn't hide the sheer confusion all over her face; heck, Sugino himself could see it, and couldn't help but blink in question as he wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden.

He didn't have the time to ask her, for she had already taken from him the picture he intended to show her from his hand –and her blue eyes, looking desperate to understand something, studied it closely.

No doubt about it – the woman in the picture was their school nurse along with two other people she failed to recognize. However, to her right there was the woman that looked almost exactly like Manami again – only older, without glasses, and with longer hair styled into low pigtails. The one with the glasses was the one to Inari's left instead – he wasn't taller than her, and his eyes were brown behind rectangular-framed spectacles that were almost touched by his bangs from his wavy (yet messy) black hair. By just looking at the photo, Rio could tell that this man was someone gentle and probably soft-hearted, but not very expressive by the smile he wore on the photo – to which she noticed was dated 02/10/2000 as typed on the lower right of the picture.

_That was about the time…_

She stared at the photo and its date for a long while, and felt the gears in her head turn. But at the same time, she felt something off deep down – tugging at her heart to make it feel heavier than it usually was.

"This was taken…about 16 years ago…" she mumbled mostly to herself, but Sugino heard it. And despite not really getting what she meant by that, he had a feeling she had just realized something. Whether it was a good or bad thing, he wasn't so sure of. But with that unsettled expression that seemed to haunt the usually cheeky blonde's face, he felt it leaned to the latter.

"…almost a year before Manami-chan was born…" she finally said, and the baseball veteran still couldn't grasp where she was coming from with this.

"Heh? But here, Inari-sensei looks like she's a musician…And the people with her look like…" trailing off, he felt his eyes grow slightly wider when he realized it. That was when he finally understood.

And looking at how big Inari's smile is with the people in the photo, with a guitar strapped onto her back, all Rio can get from this picture, somehow, was a feeling of pain and loss. Like the future that they were probably anticipating when they took this photo…

Probably never came…

More questions stirred inside the heads of the two freshmen. And though deep down, they knew they were getting themselves into some bad news, neither could help but wonder what on Earth had happened – the things they found out weren't piecing quite well together with what they already knew beforehand.

It all came to a point where all Sugino could say was "What is all this?"

Rio continued to eye the clatter with suspicion for another time – the confusion in her scrunched eyebrows refusing to disappear. Albeit she was reluctant, she wasn't able to stop herself from reaching for the set of folders that rested nearby – and Sugino could only panic once he saw that she was _still_ looking through the mysterious pile of items.

"What are you doing!?"

"I know we can't get curious about it, and we shouldn't be looking at all of this in the first place, but…the fact that I can't get it around my head is bothering me too much that I can't leave it alone!" she said without even sparing him a glance – almost hastily trying to find something within the clatter that can appease the questions in her mind that gave her a headache.

"That may be so, but…" that's when he noticed that when Rio spread a few papers, there was a folder with the name Okuda Akihito sitting close by, but looking at it closely, he noticed there was a very conspicuous stain – and, in spite of what he said, he picked it up.

True enough, when he got a better look at it, the folder looked like it was accidentally splashed on by something. He was sure it wasn't coffee, but he wishes it was for the presumption in his head made him feel queasy inside – and he hopes he's wrong about this conjecture. However, due to his experiences in middle school, without a doubt, Sugino had to assume that it was blood – since no one would spill coffee that looked _this _brown all over a folder accidentally.

Which only means…

There was probably a lot of blood…

Realizing this, a chill went up his spine and he had to swallow a lump that formed in his throat before setting that folder aside – whatever it was, he knew that finding out wasn't an option and was convinced that this was too much for them to just casually look through.

"O-Oi, Nakamura, let's not get involved any more than this…" he told her anxiously – really hoping that this time, she would actually listen to him.

And thankfully, her response meant that she did.

"Y-yeah, I think we should too…" she said, just as uneasy – though her fearful eyes still didn't tear away from the pictures of Inari she found when she was still a musician; while on the floor just in front of her were a collection of bills and bank loans that, upon just looking for a bit, the blonde realized were records of when she sold everything she had to do with music, and when she made withdrawals using an account with the Okuda name…

Swallowing the lump on her throat, she at last nodded and became submissive this time

"Though…" She looked at the box that fell where it lay next to an empty case – where all of it came from. Making one last conclusion, she lowered whatever she was holding to her lap as she fixed a hard stare to the ground.

"Why, and for what reasons, would all of these be gathered into one place like this, and why is it hidden up there – in the nurse's office of all places – like it didn't want to be found?" she said in low voice. As the words slowly left her mouth, it was as if at the same time she was finally completing a puzzle in her head – and dreaded the final picture.

"It only means…?" Sugino waited for her answer nervously – but he wished she wouldn't say what he thinks she will. But Rio shook her head almost bleakly, and crushed all of his hopes for that.

Blue eyes were half-lidded as they took one last look at the mess they were never meant to find.

"I'm sure…that all of these…are things that Manami knows nothing about…"

"What do we have here?" Rio and Sugino jumped and froze on their spots at the new yet all too familiar voice – and that was when whatever fears, anxieties and troubles they had had doubled over.

No words then would be able to describe how great their regret was especially with the tone of voice he used – the sarcastic, scary "You're dead when I'm done with you" voice.

"Here I'm told by Isogai to check why Sugino was taking so long, and I find out this is what you've been wasting your precious time on, huh?"

Slowly and hesitantly, Rio and Sugino turned their heads – eyes wide as saucers – to look back at the redhead, and found themselves gaping at the anger in his eyes. He may have sounded like he was smiling with the tone he used, but that didn't seem to be on his face right now as they could tell any moment now that a vein was gonna pop on his face somewhere there – he looked that pissed at them, and it was made even more clear with the dangerously hostile tone of voice he used on them.

"What are you two loftily laying your hands on?" then, Rio and Sugino stiffened – overwhelmed by shock and the fear of his anger as well as what he plans on doing to them after this.

And while they stutter out an explanation, Karma's eyes move to the pile of items scattered all over the floor and sees all the stuff that came from a case that he had seen before….

That's when he figured out that they aren't just picking up the pieces of a mess.

He feigned a smile, and forcefully pushed them towards the door in the same way a policeman would while saying "C'mon, let's talk this out somewhere else, hm?"

The other two just complied when he let them go – disobeying him now would bring them even more misfortune. Besides, things just got even more confusing with the way he reacted to it. Before Rio stepped out of the room, she spotted Karma just standing before the mess they made with his eyes to the floor inscrutably – and that's what raised her suspicions even more, and she narrowed her eyes at him before she stepped out with Sugino.

Mercury eyes were glued to the clutter as the owner of which worked the gears in his head – but that wasn't very easy when it was hard to calm down due to his own jumbled emotions. In fact, the longer he stared at it, the more uneasy he became. He was shocked himself when he just found the two of them there, and looking through information they weren't supposed to meddle in. And though he could always get mad at them, the fact that they know, and how he reacted to it, made things all the more complicated. Now, because he acted on impulse, he's gonna have to explain a few things.

But for the time being, even he had to admit that he didn't exactly know what to do. But first, he knew he had to calm down and smartly think of a way through this.

So for now, he chose to clean up the mess – _all _of it. He left not one still on the ground, but did it as fast as he could – placing them all back into the case that was hidden in a box. Once it was all cleared out, he stepped back a bit and threw it back up on the highest part of the shelf.

He looked at it one more time just to make sure it was secured there, and was satisfied when he saw nothing moving – 'good', he thought, and nodded before running out of the room and shutting the door. Although his thoughts were nothing close to cool and collected, he casually went up to the two nuisances (as he put it in his mind) and told them to follow him.

Little did he know – that his shutting the door too hard caused the box to fall back down.

**Chapter 27: What You Are To Me (FIESTA ARC! [Part 4: Prelude to a Catastrophe])**

* * *

**Yeah...that was pretty much it :") **

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! I'd love to know what you think so that I can improve! I've gotten pretty rusty over the months and it's my own fault for being slothful and negligent. **

**I appreciate any criticisms and will try my best to address them if they are constructive and benefit the story! ^W^**

**Again, I'm sorry for the long time I was gone. I really do hope to post the next chapter soon but until then, I hope you guys don't lose faith or interest in this story ;;w;; Each one of you means a lot to me and though I don't seem like it because of all the months I've been out, all my readers are precious to me. I know I may have disappointed you guys with this chapter but I honestly tried my best this time despite everything that happened. **

**I love you guys, really I do. Thanks for sticking by this story. I can never thank all of you enough. Please review and MERRY CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN!**

**'Til the next chapter!**

**With all the love in the world**

**~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay**


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